The Carolina Panthers needed quarterback Bryce Young to lead a fourth-quarter drive to take the lead. The Miami Dolphins needed two from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They got one, and the Panthers posted a 27-24 victory in an NFL matchup of former Alabama All-American QBs.
The Dolphins led 17-0 after Tagovailoa threw his second touchdown pass of the game with 10:48 left in the first half. But Carolina scored the next 20 points and took the lead on running back Rico Dowdle’s 1-yard touchdown run with 6:10 to play.
Playing because Chuba Hubbard couldn’t because of an injury, Dowdle ran for 206 yards on 23 carries, including a 43-yard breakaway to set up his touchdown.
Tagovailoa completed 16-of-20 passes for 147 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions as Miami scored on its first three possessions. He threw TD passes of 10 yards to running back De’Von Achane and 4 yards to tight end Darren Waller.
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But the Dolphins had gained only two more first down when they took possession at the Miami 43-yard line after Dowdle’s go-ahead touchdown.
“When we were flowing,” Tagovailoa said, “we got to get a gauge on what they wanted to do defensively. And then second half, they made some really good halftime adjustments with what they wanted to do on third down versus us and kind of keeping us off the field and not converting.”
A couple of short passes to Achane got a first down before Tagovailoa connected with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on a deep throw for a 46-yard touchdown as the Dolphins went ahead 24-20 with 4:42 remaining.
In Miami’s first game after eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury, Waddle had six receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown.
Carolina started at its 17-yard line needing a touchdown. After Dowdle ran for 16 yards, Young connected with wide receiver Xavier Legette for a 24-yard gain to put the Panthers in Miami’s half of the field.
With the game on the line, Young converted a fourth-and-5 snap at the Dolphins 33-yard line by finding wide receiver Jimmy Horn, and the sixth-round rookie picked up 17 yards in his first NFL game.
Two snaps later, Young threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Evans, and the fifth-round rookie’s reception put the Panthers in front by three with 1:59 to play.
Miami didn’t have an answer this time. From the Dolphins 22, Tagovailoa had two incompletions before a sack, and Miami punted with 1:03 to play and all its timeouts.
The Dolphins had an opportunity to get the football back with 50 seconds remaining with a timeout after an incomplete third-down pass by Young. But Miami cornerback Jack Jones got a defensive pass interference penalty on the play, and Young kneeled out the victory.
Young lost a fumble on Carolina’s first possession, and Miami safety Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted a Young pass on the second possession.
Trailing 17-0, Carolina got back into the game with a 12-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that also included a fourth-and-5 conversion. Young connected with first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan for a 21-yard gain to the Miami 27-yard line.
Young capped the series with a 7-yard touchdown toss to Legette with 3:24 left in the first half, and Carolina came through with a field goal on the final snap of the second quarter, too.
“We’re just always going to keep fighting,” Young said. “Always going to believe, always going to focus on the next play. Obviously, didn’t start the way we want to. Stuff for me to clean up. But there was no hesitation. Nothing looking down. We knew that whatever it is, flush it, go to the next play. The belief was always there, and I’m so proud to be a part of a team like that. …
“Obviously, not the start that we want, but for us to be able to refocus. Coach talks about that all the time -- being able to refocus from the good, from the bad, whatever it may be. And you saw that in all phases. You saw everyone, regardless of what was going on, what the scoreboard was, just be able to refocus on the next play, and that’s something that’s going to be important for us moving forward.”
Young completed 19-of-30 passes for 198 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Tagovailoa completed 27-of-36 passes for 256 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Entering the contest, the Dolphins had a 10-1 record in games in which Tagovailoa had three or more touchdown passes.
Carolina (2-3) plays the Dallas Cowboys at noon CDT Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It’s great for these 24 hours,” Young said of Sunday’s victory. “It’s amazing. And then when we come back tomorrow, it’ll be on to the next week. Again, there’s never been a lack of belief. We all know what we have. We all know what it takes to execute. It’ll be great, again, 24 hours, and then next week it’ll be the challenge to execute and do everything we can to have a good week to put ourselves in a good spot for Sunday.”
Miami (1-4) plays the Los Angeles Chargers at noon Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“It’s tough,” Tagovailoa said. “No one wants to start the season one and four. It’s not like our team goes out there and we want to give up this or we want to not convert our third downs in the second half. There’s just so many things that go into it, and we got to figure this out and we got to figure this out now. You know, like, this feeling sucks. It’s not a good feeling.”
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