With Carolina facing fourth-and-4 at the Dallas 40-yard line in a tie game with 2:31 remaining, Panthers coach Dave Canales put the game in the hands of quarterback Bryce Young on Sunday.
The former Alabama All-American connected with wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for a 7-yard game on the final play before the two-minute warning.
The next three snaps picked up 21 yards on the ground, and the 15-play drive ended with Ryan Fitzgerald’s 33-yard field goal on the game’s final play that lifted the Panthers to a 30-27 victory over the Cowboys.
“We all want those moments,” Young said. “We want the game in our hands. We want to execute. We wanted to leave no doubt as an offense; we didn’t want to leave them any time. It speaks to the trust from Coach, from the staff and the belief we have in each other.
“It’s a great job from Hunter. Great catch, great win on the route, and everyone, all 11, executing in a big moment.”
Young threw three touchdown passes in a game for the fourth time in his career, and each came on Sunday with Carolina trailing.
Young threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan as the Panthers tied the score at 10-10 with 11:29 left in the first half, a 36-yard touchdown pass to running back Rico Dowdle as Carolina took a 20-17 lead with 13:19 left in the third quarter and a 2-yard touchdown pass to McMillan as the Panthers went up 27-24 with 12:20 left in the game.
Young completed 17-of-25 passes for 199 yards with one interception. Young’s passing-efficiency rating of 114.8 is the second-best of his career.
Dowdle ran for 183 yards on 30 carries against the Cowboys after running for 206 yards in last week’s 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.
“When he decides to put his foot in the ground and go, he has bad intentions,” Young said.
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At 3-3, Carolina has reached .500 for the first time since it had a 5-5 mark in the 2021 season.
Carolina plays the winless New York Jets at noon CDT Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“Regardless of anything, I’ve always been so proud of this team of how we’ve worked, of how we’ve carried ourselves through the week,” Young said. “And I think now, it’s just more encouraging. We have to make sure that we continue to keep building, continue to keep pushing ourselves during the week. We know that it works. We know what the coaches are having us do, and the process is what we need to be doing. It’s just continuing to trust each other, push each other, and we’re excited for the work.”
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