ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — If you're going to make people wait for it, then you owe it to them to leave them wanting more.

The Panthers' first offense, or at least most of it, got their first action of the preseason on Saturday afternoon, and it was worth the wait.

The 31-26 win over the Bills featured plenty of offense, but the early work was the most instructive, and the most needed.

Quarterback Bryce Young led the kind of possession the Panthers were hoping to see, looking crisp and leading a touchdown drive in his only action before returning to the safety of the sidelines.

Young hit a wide-open tight end Jordan Matthews for the touchdown, capping his preseason with a 140.6 passer rating.

Young was 6-of-8 for 70 yards passing and had a few moments of real precision.

The cleanest was a fourth-down conversion when he rolled to the left, buying time before he found wide receiver Diontae Johnson for a 17-yard gain along the sidelines.

That was followed by a 21-yard strike across the middle to Adam Thielen to get them into position for Matthews' wide-open score.

That was enough for the day, as he was replaced by rookie Jack Plummer on the next possession.

Young was working with most of the usuals, though center Austin Corbett and left guard Damien Lewis weren't on the trip because of personal reasons.

They were replaced by undrafted rookie Andrew Raym and second-year guard Chandler Zavala (Zavala has quietly had a solid camp), but it was still a physical group.

Running back Chuba Hubbard had three carries for 15 yards on the drive, and the offensive line had the opportunity to push some people around, figuratively and literally. The Bills weren't playing any of their starters, but it was still a positive showing.

In fact, there's always a little risk when you're playing fringe players trying to make the roster, and Jonathan Mingo learned that first hand. After a short reception, Mingo was held up and, several seconds later, suplexed to the ground by Bills cornerback Te'Cory Couch. That triggered a minor scrum, with left tackle Ikem Ekwonu rushing over to knock Couch down. There was no flag on the play, so some defending your own seemed appropriate in the moment.

It was a solid start for the first offense, which struggled from the start of the preseason a year ago and never turned it around. A good one drive won't erase those memories, but it's also coming against a solid performance against the Jets in a joint practice (no turnovers), and the trend line is at least moving in a non-negative direction as they head into the regular season.

That's all you can really ask for out of a preseason.

The first offense wasn't the only one shining.

The Panthers scored three more touchdowns, with Plummer throwing a pair to Terrace Marshall Jr. and Jalen Coker, and Mike Boonerunning one in.

It was a strong bounce-back game for Plummer after two uneven starts. He finished 21-of-29 for 278 yards and the two scores, and got to kneel out the win.

— Special teams were anything but last week, but the Panthers had a better time of it on returns this week.

They got a 40-yard-line drive start when a Bills kickoff didn't reach the landing zone, and Ihmir Smith-Marsette popped a 46-yard return to give them field position for a touchdown drive.

Smith-Marsette also had a 21-yard punt return before leaving just before halftime with an ankle injury. He was announced as questionable to return.

— Corbett's personal reason was a good one, as he revealed at halftime of a game he was not at.

The veteran center posted a photo of his new son on social media. Cooper John Corbett was a healthy 10 pounds, 4 ounces, and 22 inches long. No word yet on hand size, 225-pound bench press reps, or 40 time.

This child only knows a world in which the Panthers first offense scores touchdowns and wins games.

— The biggest thing you want to leave the preseason with is good health, and the Panthers have a few more concerns in the coming days.

Outside linebacker Cam Gill, who had surgery on a broken hand earlier in the offseason, was carted off the field in the first half with an ankle injury.

He was announced as questionable, but did not return.

He had a sack before leaving, helping in his fight for a roster spot.

Kicker Eddy Piñeiro was also announced as questionable to return with a right hamstring issue.

Piñeiro hit a 45-yard field goal before half, but Johnny Hekker kicked off in the second half. They also went for two-point conversions after both touchdowns in the second