The Panthers put 36 points on the board and managed to knock the Cardinals out of the playoffs with an overtime win.
Chuba Hubbard ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 36-30.
First Quarter
The game started with a great deal of competence. Eddy Pineiro’s opening kickoff was a low line drive that landed about 15 yards short of the landing zone. The Cardinals opening play picked up a big chunk of yards, but it came back because Marvin Harrison Jr. lined up offsides. The defense capitalized and forced a punt.
Bryce Young threw a dime down the field to Adam Thielen to open the Panthers first possession, but the normally sure handed receiver let the ball fall through his arms. The Panthers were able to get the drive moving with a first down a few plays later with Young barreling into and kind of over a defender on a third down scramble.
The Cardinals milked the rest of the quarter running with James Conner and a couple of short passes. The quarter ended with the Cardinals facing a 4th and 1 on the Panthers 20.
Second Quarter
The Cardinals picked up the first down with a run, but it was called back for by my count was the 23rd penalty of the game. They ended up having to settle for a field goal.
The Panthers scored again on their second drive, but that one took a whole lot less time. Bryce Young ran the offense into Cardinals territory with a 34 yard scramble out to the right. A few plays later, on third down, he did the same thing out to the left against the Cardinals man to man defense and made it all the way to the goal line. Eddy Pineiro hooked the extra point to the left though.
The offense got the ball back quickly after a botched Cardinals handoff in which Kyler Murray put the ball too high into the chest of the back. Young found David Moore to get inside the 10 and then found Thielen wide open in the back of the end zone to put the Panthers up 20-3.
The ensuing Cardinals drive was jumpstarted by a hip drive tackle, which I believe is the first flag for the infraction all season. According to rules analyst Dean Blandino, it was a bad call. Way to set a precedent. James Conner took a screen pass all the way down inside the 10 yard line and punched it in a couple of plays later.
After a three and out and quick punt back, the Cardinals went right back to feeding James Conner. He bowled over defenders on multiple carries to get inside the red zone. The Panthers looked like they had a stop when Murray sailed a pass over the head of Trey McBride, but the 85th flag of the game was thrown, this time for defensive pass interference. Murray found DeeJay Dallas in the flat for a touchdown.
Third Quarter
The Panthers found a little bit of their mojo coming out of halftime. Raheem Blackshear started the half with a solid return. A couple of nice runs from Hubbard and a nice back shoulder throw to Thielen moved the Panthers inside the red zone. The drive stalled out there and settled for a field goal. The Cardinals essentially did the same thing with one big pass from Murray to Michael Wilson.
Hubbard had a couple of nice runs to start the next Panthers drive, but one run stuff messed the momentum up. Young couldn’t find anyone to throw to on the next two plays and the Panthers punted again. Fortunately the defense finally held up and forced a punt right back. The rather uneventful third quarter ended with a handoff to Raheem Blackshear.
Fourth Quarter
Young found Tremble with a couple of passes to start the fourth quarter, one of which came while Young was getting absolutely rocked by a blitzing linebacker. A couple plays later, he dropped a ball in the bucket to David Moore for a touchdown.
The Panthers had Kyler Murray flushed out on a third down, but Jaycee Horn bit on a pump fake that Murray did not do and let him run by for a first down. A few plays later, the Panthers made a stop on 3rd and 1, but they accepted a Cardinals penalty to give them another shot on 3rd and 6. The Cardinals called a quarterback run, and Murray zig zagged for 20 yards and a touchdown.
A first down hold on Robert Hunt effectively ended the next Panthers drive before it even got started. They punted it with about five minutes to go and a three point lead, risking never getting the ball back. That was made worse by Johnny Hekker hitting a very weak punt. A Cardinals player hit the ball and looked like they handed it back to the Panthers, but it had touched a Panthers player first, so it wasn’t deemed a fumble.
The Cardinals lucky breaks continued with the first play of their drive. Jadeveon Clowney hit Murray’s arm while he was throwing. Thinking the ball was tipped, Xavier Woods went through a falling receiver to try to get to the duck. He was called for pass interference since the ball technically wasn’t tipped. The defense bucked up though. After a couple of stuffs, Kyler Murray threw a weird ball to no one except Demani Richardson, who fielded the throw like a punt.
The Panthers let Young air it out after Hubbard was stuffed on first down. He found trusty Dan Chisena for 23 yards on third down. He tried to go back to Chisena on 3rd and 3 at midfield, but Young missed it wide. The Panthers settled for another bad Hekker punt that was returned to the 26 yard line.
The defense ceded several consecutive checkdowns to let the Cardinals get out to midfield. A short Murray scramble set up a 58 yard field goal with two seconds left, which Chad Ryland drilled down the middle.
Overtime
The Panthers got the ball first but went three and out after Young tripped a lineman’s foot trying to escape the pocket. Hekker hit another poor punt, but it got a favorable bounce and rolled down to the Cardinals 10 yard line. Mike Jackson broke up consecutive passes intended for Marvin Harrison Jr., then Murray was run out of bounds to set up 4th and 2. The Cardinals elected to go for it despite being on their own 18 yard line, and they picked up the first down on a run up the middle for four yards. The defense responded though. They generated a stop after sacking Murray on third down to set up a 4th and 25 that the Cardinals did not go for. After a penalty on the punt, the Panthers took possession inside the 50 after the rekick.
Hubbard took a handoff on the first play and broke through the line for 28 yards. On the second, he broke through two Cardinals tacklers to run to the end zone.
Overview
It was a great bounce back for the Panthers after they looked like they forgot how to football against the Cowboys. Bryce Young had another nice game and managed the offense well. Chuba Hubbard had one of his better games in a while. There wasn’t a lot to complain about on the side of the ball.
The defense looked rough, but they’re always going to look rough with their current personnel. They made big stops when they needed to down the stretch and did just enough to win.
It feels good to get a win, especially with the last home game of the season. It also knocks the Cardinals out of the playoffs. The Panthers wrap up the season with two divisional road games, starting with the Buccaneers next Sunday.