Panthers vs. Falcons game review: What a way to finish

A roller coaster season came to a poetic ending for Dave Canales, Bryce Young and the rest of the Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers tumultuous season came to a finish versus the Atlanta Falcons in a way that only the most optimistic of fans could have imagined. Most probably wouldn’t include the defense earning the dubious honor of allowing the most total points in a season in their storybook ending, but what good story doesn’t have conflict?

Since he has arrived in Charlotte, head coach Dave Canales has preached the word “finish” over and over. True to his word, Canales did not pass up the opportunity to close the season out strong to the tune of a 44-38 point slugfest that required overtime to settle the match-up. In deference to Canales, it only feels appropriate to theme this week’s game review all around the way the Panthers were able to finish.

At no point during the contest did either team manage a lead of more than 7 points. The two NFC South rivals went body shot for body shot, touchdown for touchdown for 60 minutes – only to reach a 38-38 stalemate. For the 4th time this season, the Panthers were finding themselves in overtime. For Canales, this was an opportunity to put some truth behind his words and stick to the philosophy he near constantly preaches. Not just “finish”, but wanting to be balanced with the run and pass game to not force a young quarterback to make every play, only asking him to be special just a couple moments a game when the moment arrives.

True to his word, Canales’ masterfully called final drive epitomized each of those pillars to his philosophy. The 10 play drive had an even split of 5 runs and 5 passes that methodically drove 70 yards down the field. The running game ground out a few yards to start the drive, opening up a 18 yard pass to the flat off play action. With the Falcons on their heels, Canales put Bryce Young in shotgun empty, and asked him be special. Finding a few easy short gains, Young found himself in the middle of a scramble drill and looked to be running out of options. Young pressed the line of scrimmage, threatening to take off and run to pull a defender off Jalen Coker. With a pass that looked more like an NBA jump shot than a NFL throw, Young flicked the ball over the defender to Coker who fought his way to the 6-inch line.

Then, Canales called the kill shot: a run up the middle to cap off the game and the season with a drive that couldn’t have more perfectly encapsulated the rookie head coaches philosophy if it were written by an Ivy League script writer.

While the ending was a special moment, the entire game was one to remember for many reasons. Yes, there is the note that the Panthers gave up just enough points to become the worst defense of all time, but thankfully that’s not the story that matters the most.

It’s well known that the reason Canales was brought in to coach the Panthers was because the team needed someone to rehabilitate Young, a quarterback who looked broken after his rookie season. This game also was the culmination of a season’s worth of effort to develop Young into a franchise quarterback.

Young’s performance against the Falcons is likely the best of his career and may just be his most defining moment so far. While Young has had games that have graded out well, Sunday’s 5 touchdown performance also had some fun box score stats and superstar moments to go with it.

If Sunday’s game was any indication, the Panthers look to have a bright future ahead of them with Canales and Young at the helm.

For the last time this season, that’s all I have for you for this week’s game review. Thank you for joining me for the ride and until September, keep pounding!