The Panthers had a chance to win the game in the dying moments, but it was not meant to be.
Bryce Young threw a game winning touchdown pass in the game’s final moments, but Xavier Legette let the ball fall through his arms, and the Carolina Panthers lost their chance at one of the biggest upsets of the season.
First Quarter
A quick pass then a handoff to Chuba Hubbard earned the Panthers a first down, but three straight incompletions forced a punt. The defense answered with a strong opening possession against a notoriously slow starting Eagles team. A Josey Jewell sack put the Eagles far enough behind the sticks that they ended up having to punt.
The next two drives were pretty similar. A couple nice gains by Chuba were offset by a third down sack. Johnny Hekker’s punt landed just short of the goal line, but the coverage team let the ball roll back to the 10. The defense held again, and a nice return set the Panthers up around midfield.
Bryce Young found Adam Thielen down the sideline to move the Panthers into field goal range. Jonathon Brooks came up lame on a handoff and had to leave the game. That sucked the life out of the team, and they settled for a field goal.
The first quarter ended with the Eagles driving.
Second Quarter
That drive ended with a Brotherly Shove touchdown after the defense stuffed a SaQuon Barkley carry at the goal line.
Young found Thielen and David Moore on third and longs to keep the drive going and set the Panthers up inside the ten. Young got stepped on trying to hand off to Hubbard on the goal line and the play got blown up. Dave Canales, apparently learning from last week, left the offense on the field for fourth down. Young found Tommy Tremble in the flat for a touchdown to put the Panthers up 10-7.
The defense held again by limiting a Barkley carry to three yards and forcing a pair of incompletions. That gave the offense three minutes to try to extend their lead, but it didn’t happen. Young airmailed a duck over the head of Thielen and it fell into the waiting arms of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The Eagles drove down the field and capped off the drive with a Devonta Smith touchdown.
Third Quarter
The Eagles clearly reevaluated their play calling in the halftime break. They force fed their ground game and matriculated all the way into field goal range. They had to settle for a field goal, but Jake Elliot missed it.
Young found Thielen again to move the Panthers into Eagles territory. They found themselves in another fourth and short. Young’s pass was deflected at the line, but Adam Thielen hauled it in anyway. Young scrambled down to the one while getting his shirt stretched about 10 feet. Hubbard punched it in a couple plays later to put the Panthers back on top, but Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point left again.
An A’Shawn Robinson sack set up a 3rd and 10 at midfield. The Panthers got pressure, but Jalen Hurts escaped up the middle and ran inside the 10 as the fourth quarter came to a close. To reiterate, the Panthers were leading heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
It took a few tries, but the Eagles eventually scored. Elliot missed the extra point, but Chau Smith-Wade jumped offsides. The Eagles went for two and picked it up.
The Panthers worked into Eagles territory and were set up with another fourth and short. They tried a rub route to free up Xavier Legette, but the Eagles sniffed it out to force a turnover on downs.
After a modest drive, the Panthers blew up what was supposed to be a quick pass and sacked Hurts for a big loss. The defense held and forced a punt since the Eagles lost confidence in their kicker. It was downed at the two.
After some disastrous plays to start the game, Young escaped pressure and threw a deep ball to Xavier Legette while getting his sleeve ripped. A couple short passes moved the Panthers out to midfield by the two minute warning.
Young found Thielen on another fourth down to extend the drive. A couple plays later, Young found Legette for a game winning touchdown, but he dropped it. It was his second drop of the drive. A fourth down delay of game set up 4th and 9, and Young couldn’t find Thielen this time.
Overview
It was another week of improved play across the board for the Panthers. The defense struggled with Saquon, but everyone does. They completely stifled the Eagles passing attack and kept the offense in the game.
Bryce Young didn’t have a great statistical day, but he was playing against one of the league’s better defenses and made plays in big moments. Again, he did enough to win the game.
Xavier Legette is becoming a major concern. He dropped three passes on the final drive, though one didn’t count because of a penalty. He’s been throwing up a lot of red flags with his shaky hands and lack of awareness at times.
In all, it’s a game we can come away pleased with. The Panthers are playing well. They look like a good team in the making.
Next week they get a visit from the Cowboys.