Don't miss our podcast, Processing Blue, and subscribe to our newsletter, Access Panthers. This year is crucial for Bryce Young as he seeks to establish himself as a franchise quarterback, and for second-year head coach Dave Canales with his upgraded team. Follow along through training camp, preseason, and the regular season.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young doesn’t have ornithophobia. In fact, he likes playing the dirty birds, no matter the setting.
On Sunday, in a 30-27 overtime win over the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Young picked up his fourth career win against the NFC South rivals with a rare aerial attack. Young, who threw for career high 448 yards and three touchdowns, has won more games against Atlanta than any other team in the league through his first three seasons.
In Week 11, Carolina completed its first sweep of the season series against Atlanta since 2013. That accomplishment was aided by season-best outings from Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette, as the passing game put up huge numbers against the Falcons.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales had been challenged all week over the team’s lack of explosive passing plays. And on the road, the play-caller tuned up the band for five passing plays of 20 or more yards. Young, even with a mid-game ankle injury, put together his best performance as a passer all season.
With six games remaining, the Panthers are 6-5 and 2-1 in the division. They’ll face all but one non-playoff contender in that final stretch.
After the outing in Atlanta, it looks like they still have plenty of fight left in them.
Here are five takeaways from the big division win in overtime:
Young bookends injury scare with aerial showcase
Young put forth his most complete passing performance of the season against Atlanta. He threw the ball well and set up his weapons for success on a consistent basis.
It also helped that his play-caller, Canales, directed him to spread the ball around. This allowed the playmakers get extra opportunities to attack down the field. While the Panthers only put up 28 points against Atlanta, the passing product showed that the run game isn’t the only show in town.
The Panthers’ starting quarterback focused heavily on spreading the ball around during the opening drive. He threw seven passes while targeting six different receivers on a 12-play, 73-yard touchdown-scoring series. Young did a nice job of fitting the ball through traffic in the middle of the field to his weapons. He capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown completion to wideout Tetairoa McMillan. He lone incompletion on the opening drive was a batted ball at the line.
On the following series, Young had a pretty similar look from the Falcons that the New Orleans Saints showed in Week 10. Last week, Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor faked a blitz pre-snap before floating into coverage to intercept a pass by Young. Falcons safety Billy Bowman Jr. posed a similar threat ahead of the snap on third-and-6. Instead, though, Bowman blitzed untouched to the QB for an 8-yard loss. Young landed awkwardly and had to immediately be looked over by the training staff. The QB left the field on his own power and waved off a cart on the sideline on the way to the locker room.
Replays of the sack showed that Bowman inadvertently stepped on Young’s right ankle while attempting to bring him to the ground. Despite the poor optics of the takedown, Young immediately returned on the following drive, as back-to-back penalties put the offense on the edge of the Carolina end zone. The Panthers predictably played it safe on third-and-23 on the Carolina 7-yard line and punted.
Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young directs his team during the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Todd Kirkland Getty Images
Down by 14, Young and the passing attack showed some resilience on the final drive of the half. Young hit McMillan on a crossing route, which set the wide receiver up with plenty of room to run. The completion went for 39 yards, one shy of the season-high completion for the Panthers, to put Carolina in scoring territory. However, the group was eventually forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Fitzgerald.
Young finished the first half with 130 passing yards and a touchdown on a 73.3% completion percentage. He had just 124 passing yards in an entire game against the Saints the previous week.
The third-year QB came out firing in the second half, hitting wideout Jalen Coker for a 21-yard gain. He followed up that strike with a 36-yard deep shot to Xavier Legette for a touchdown. While the follow-up two-point conversion failed, the opening drive of the second half built some momentum for Carolina.
Following a fumble recovery on the follow-up kickoff, Young went back to the air, targeting Legette on a pair of passes to get into the red zone after getting awesome field position. However, Young was thwarted on a fourth-down scramble at the 8-yard line after a passing play was well-covered and Carolina turned the ball over on downs.
After a stop by the defense, Young continued to air out the ball with Canales guiding him. Young hit McMillan and tight end Mitchell Evans for first downs. Evans was able to set the Panthers up in scoring territory with a wide-open catch-and-run for 25 yards. After avoiding a potential pick in the end zone, the Panthers connected on a 34-yard field goal to cut the Falcons’ lead to two points with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
With the Panthers down by two to start the fourth quarter, Young completed a 29-yard pass to McMillan. The passing play was Young’s fifth completion of 20 or more yards at that point. The offense came into the game with just 21 of those plays in the previous 10 games. However, the drive was ultimately stalled by a third-down sack by safety Ronnie Harrison.
The Panthers continued to battle but failed to find points through the fourth quarter. Young fell on a fourth-down under center play with the ball, and that pushed Carolina’s offense off the field with Atlanta in scoring territory. The Falcons were able to add a field goal after recovering the ball with 3:02 left in the game.
Young, though, wouldn’t go away. He connected with McMillan and running back Rico Dowdle on a pair of huge passing plays to put the Panthers in scoring position. And then on third down, in the red zone, Young went back to his favorite weapon for a lead-taking 12-yard touchdown.
With the game on the line, Young made the biggest completion of the game. He tossed a pass to his right, connecting with tight end Tommy Tremble. The veteran playmaker then rumbled all the way down to the Atlanta 15-yard line. The massive 54-yard catch-and-run completion set up a 28-yard game-winning field goal by kicker Ryan Fitzgerald.
Young finished with 448 passing yards and three touchdowns on a 31-of-45 completion rate (68.9%). He led six scoring drives overall. He had seven completions of 20 yards or more.
It was a statement game for Young and Canales, who had seemingly had an operational disconnect throughout the first 10 games of the season. Against Atlanta, Young and Canales showed an inspiring chemistry that they can build on down the stretch.
For the first time in a long time, it feels like the passing game can deliver when called upon.
Penix, London and Robinson eat early
The trio of Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson proved to be a super tough draw for Ejiro Evero’s defense in the first half. While the unit eventually recovered, especially when Penix (knee) was knocked out of the game in the third quarter, the defense forced the offense to climb out of a hole it had trouble scaling throughout the afternoon.
That said, the defense eventually clamped down on Atlanta’s attack, especially with Kirk Cousins replacing Penix, and made plays late that helped Carolina’s offense tip the scales in overtime.
The Panthers’ defense forced a three-and-out to kick off the contest. But following the opening-drive touchdown by the Carolina offense, the Falcons came roaring back with a couple of explosive plays in the passing game. Penix hit London on a pair of wide-open targets, which combined for a gain of 71 yards gained on the series. Those two huge passing plays set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Robinson. The talented tailback broke a pair of tackles at the line to hit pay dirt.
Michael Penix Jr. #9 of the Atlanta Falcons throws a pass during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Todd Kirkland Getty Images
Penix continued to find holes in the Panthers’ zone-heavy scheme on the following drive. The Falcons’ QB completed six passes for 58 yards on the 13-play, 95-yard touchdown drive. The defense had few answers for Atlanta’s offense beyond the opening series.
Atlanta kept surging on offense throughout the second quarter. London caught five passes for 108 receiving yards before halftime, as Penix found him for consistent big gains. The Falcons scored for a third time on a 1-yard run by Tyler Allgeier.
Drake London of the Atlanta Falcons is tackled by Nick Scott of the Carolina Panthers during Sunday’s second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Todd Kirkland Getty Images
Through two quarters, Penix completed 11 of 12 passes for 163 yards and led three touchdown-scoring drives. Robinson ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. London caught five first-half passes for 108 yards.
The Panthers’ defense caught a break to start the third quarter as the Falcons gave up the ball on a kick return. Carolina then produced the second three-and-out of the game on the following possession.
Like Young earlier in the game, Penix was banged up on a hit in the pocket to end the Falcons’ first offensive series of the second half. He was forced to the medical tent with a knee injury.
Penix was replaced by Cousins at the end of the third quarter following the fourth scoring drive of the game by Carolina’s offense. After a poor opening series with Cousins at the wheel, Atlanta was able to get some push up the field, jump-started by a pass interference penalty cornerback Jaycee Horn. Still, the Falcons weren’t able to add to their two-point lead.
Following a fourth-down stop by Atlanta’s defense, the Falcons’ offense was set up within Carolina territory with 3:02 remaining. They were able to tack on a 52-yard field goal to take a five-point lead into the final 2:43 of regulation.
After a potential game-winning TD by the Panthers, Cousins was able to lead to a game-saving field-goal drive during the final seconds of regulation. The successful make by former Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez pushed the matchup to overtime.
The defense, though, was able to force a three-and-out to begin overtime, putting the ball in the offense’s hands to finish.
Penix didn’t return to the game after finishing with 175 passing yards on a 81.3% completion percentage. London caught seven passes for 119 yards, while Robinson put up 133 total yards and two touchdowns.
Rushing game subdued again
For a second consecutive week, Dowdle was held in check by an NFC South defense. Dowdle, who is among the league leaders in rushing yards, failed to produce explosive plays on an afternoon where the Panthers needed to be one-dimensional throughout.
The Panthers’ running game was largely thwarted in the first half on Sunday. Dowdle produced 13 rushing yards on five carries (2.6 YPC) in the first half. Chuba Hubbard didn’t touch the ball until the final drive of the first half, but managed to pick up 12 yards on two carries before halftime. Dowdle, Hubbard and rookie Trevor Etienne combined for 27 yards in the first two quarters.
Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young hands the ball off to Rico Dowdle (5) during Sunday’s second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Todd Kirkland Getty Images
The running game continued to struggle in the second half, even with the passing game taking off. Carolina picked up just 22 rushing yards in the third quarter, despite posting a pair of scoring drives.
Dowdle’s rushing average hovered around 3 yards per carry throughout most of the afternoon. The entire running back trio had a 3.5 yards per carry average entering the fourth quarter.
Dowdle finished the game with 45 rushing yards on 19 carries (2.4 YPC) with Hubbard chipping in 21 yards on four carries. The offense produced 67 rushing yards overall.
To Dowdle’s credit, he did pick up a 28-yard completion on a screen on the final drive of the fourth quarter and finished with 55 receiving yards off five catches.
McMillan doesn’t have to be everything
McMillan and the offense benefited from the Panthers’ decision to spread the ball around on the opening drive.
Instead of zeroing in on No. 4, the Panthers threw the ball to Coker, Legette, Evans and others early on. That allowed Young to go to McMillan occasionally for big plays against favorable coverage.
Coach Dave Canales of the Carolina Panthers speaks to the officials during Sunday’s second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Todd Kirkland Getty Images
McMillan scored his first touchdown since Week 6 against Dallas on the opening series. He also produced a 39-yard catch-and-run gain at the end of the first half. He finished the first two quarters with four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. That total was higher than his previous two complete games (46 against Green Bay, 60 against New Orleans).
Canales deserves credit for his first half’s play-calling as it put the offense in position to move the ball and still not be solely dependent on McMillan.
Coker and Legette proved they can be value cogs on the first drive of the second half, catching back-to-back passes for 21 and 36 yards, respectively. Legette’s snag went for a touchdown as well.
McMillan finished the game with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Coker collected four catches for 52 yards. Legette added four snags for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Kudos to the special teams crew
The special teams unit didn’t make any glaring mistakes on Sunday, which kept the Panthers in the game. In fact, the group only helped matters overall.
A forced fumble by linebacker Bam Martin-Scott was recovered by fellow rookie Princely Umanmielen early in the third quarter. The turnover kept Penix, Robinson and London on the sideline when they had clear momentum. That hindrance helped subdue the Atlanta offense throughout the third quarter.
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald made all three of his field goal attempts — including the game-winning strike — and all three extra-point attempts. Punter Sam Martin averaged 46.7 per punt, with two of the three downed inside the 20-yard line.
When the special teams unit contributes a turnover and doesn’t make any mistakes, that can make a huge difference in a close game, no matter the result.