ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — If you had any part in the 2023 Panthers offense, you still have the scars.

So for the guys who were also part of a successful first drive of a game on Saturday, being able to enjoy a short moment of happiness and efficient football was nice, but it was also part of a bigger effort.

They know that in the big picture, a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown drive in August against a bunch of Bills non-starters doesn't mean all that much. But they also have been working quietly without much in the way of positive reinforcement for a year, so you hate to begrudge them a moment to enjoy it.

If they start this season the way they started last year, that drive and the good feelings it created won't last any longer than the musical legacy of Shaboozey (whose hit of the summer, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," was ringing through the locker room). And if they can't sustain that kind of performance on a regular basis in the regular season, it won't matter, not after a year when they were last in the league in both total offense and passing offense.

They know Saturday doesn't mean everything, especially the ones who were here last year. But it doesn't mean nothing, either.

"Obviously, it's been a while since we've played an actual game, but this is what we've been doing all camp, so wasn't anything new," running back Chuba Hubbard said. "But it felt good to do it in a game.

"I mean, continuing to build confidence in each other on the field, players, coaches building confidence in us as well, just putting it all together can only help you."

Hubbard's quickly become one of the consciences of the offense. With the time he puts in working on his craft — it's not just the after-practice Jugs machine; it's the time he spent in April, May, June, and July. And because of the respect he's earned among his teammates when he says something, it carries a different weight.

So for him to acknowledge it was one step, but a positive one, that was telling.

He also pointed to something else that's become obvious to him, both Saturday and over the course of camp. The Bryce Young that was on the field was one he's gotten used to seeing — in command, spreading the ball around, making things happen with his feet when need be. Their joint practice against the Jets wasn't televised, but Hubbard said the same stuff that was on display in Buffalo was evident then too, and throughout the summer.

"I wasn't surprised, like I said, since the beginning, he's been doing great all year and all camp, he's been balling. So nothing to be surprised by," Hubbard said. "I mean, I don't want to just harp on Jets practice to be the end-all of our best moment. All camp, I feel like we've had solid days that have had glimpses of what we just did out there."

Again, Hubbard doesn't take any of this for granted.

An opening-drive touchdown is what you work all week for. Ostensibly, its scripted nature makes it the thing that's easiest to lock down. But last year, all of that eluded them. The Panthers didn't score a touchdown on their opening series in any of their 17 games last year. They only got three field goals, with one coming when Andy Dalton replaced an injured Young in Seattle. Then three turnovers on downs and 11 punts.

This thing that happened Saturday, it wasn't that.

Young was able to smile on the sidelines after his day was done, but after the game, he was back to his normal, measured self. So he acknowledged that it was a nice building block, but it was only one.

"I think it's something that we can build off of, for sure," the second-year quarterback said. "You know, we're competitors, we want to win everything, win every drive, every play, every game. So we take pride in it," he said. "We want to make sure we went out there and we competed and everyone, whatever group, it's something for us to improve off of, build off of, but it doesn't carry over into the next week. It doesn't carry over into the season.

"So we've got to re-center, take the good, the bad, see what we can do moving forward."

Again, that was a typical Young response in a post-game press conference. He's not going to give up that much. After living through last year and taking all those hits (62 sacks), it's going to take more than one good drive in the preseason to put all that behind him.

But Diontae Johnson wasn't a part of all that pain, and having been on some good Pittsburgh teams, he's seen what it can look like. So he was impressed by what he saw from his quarterback Saturday, from the fourth-down scramble drill conversion to the overall calm he showed in the pocket.

"He's just so poised," Johnson said. "Because if it collapses, he doesn't let it rattle him, and he tries to keep it going. It's our job to keep the play going."

Too often last year, things collapsed, and they never recovered. Saturday, for a moment, it worked. And since he doesn't carry that particular scar, Johnson can look at it with clear eyes and see some degree of potential. He's not comparing everything to 2023 since he didn't live it. For him, it just looks like progress, so a good drive was exactly that: a good drive.

"I mean, last year they didn't really have as much success as they wanted to on the offensive side, but this year is a new year," Johnson said. "We got new guys out there. We put it on film that we can move the ball; even the backups did their job as well. We put that out there today, and the backups finished the game.

"We get to show us, and don't worry about what goes on outside the locker room and just stick together as a unit. Once we do that, I feel like the sky is the limit for the whole group."

Aside from the simple acts of completing passes, gaining first downs, or scoring a touchdown, there were other little moments that showed the glimpses they're looking for.

When Jonathan Mingo was held up by a Bills defender and then slammed to the ground, it triggered what might have been a brawl in another setting. But after left tackle Ikem Ekwonu rolled in and shoved the guy down who wronged Mingo, they kind of went about their business.

"If it was a joint practice or something, that probably would have been more of a thing," Mingo said with a laugh. "You always appreciate somebody having your back, and they did."

"We've got to protect our teammates," Johnson said. "We're going to make sure we keep each other up, no matter what."

A year ago, that might not have been the reaction. In 2023, the avalanche started early and never turned around. And because of that, the Panthers also know no one expects very much out of them when the regular season starts.

"Everyone's going to probably write us off or think they can throw us around, do this or that," Hubbard said. "But each day, each week, we're going to keep chopping the tree, and we'll show our best, and whoever's ready for it, we'll be ready for it."

No one is making it more than it was. But after a year that went so terribly wrong, the ones who lived through all the pain also hoped that what they saw Saturday was the beginning of something different.