The Panthers settled for field goals on four of their six red zone drives, which proved monumental in the close battle.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young guided his team to a game-tying score against last year’s Super Bowl champions.
Running back Chuba Hubbard ran in a touchdown and a two-point conversion on the Young-led drive as the Panthers came just over a minute away from forcing overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes quickly put the Chiefs in position for a game-winning field goal on the ensuing drive, which ended the game 30-27 in favor of the road team.
The Panthers faced lopsided odds from start to finish but nearly managed the monumental upset. Young stepped up huge against a daunting opponent and put up one of the best days of his young career.
Young finished with a season-high 263 yards passing with one touchdown while completing 21 of 35 passes. He also ran for 20 yards on three attempts.
It was a standout performance from Young, who is still recovering from the lackluster start to his NFL career.Â
“He’s making a statement to all of us and showing us that he can make plays in critical areas,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said in a media appearance after the game. “He did a great job of extending plays today which is a huge part of our offense.”
One of Young’s best plays from Sunday’s game came on a crucial fourth down on Carolina’s final drive. With pressure surrounding him, Young delivered an accurate pass to receiver Adam Thielen to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, the Panthers tied the game with a touchdown.
Young fended off a charging Kansas City pass rush with a bullet pass to receiver David Moore on a third down late in the third quarter. The drive led to a field goal that narrowed the lead to one score.
His touchdown pass to receiver David Moore was also spectacular and featured a wonderful catch.
These plays solidify Young’s ability to capitalize on pivotal moments and give a glimpse of why the Panthers chose him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.
“Bryce did a great job of pushing us forward,” Canales said.
Even with Young’s positive performance, the Panthers fell short to the Chiefs due to a few key elements.Â
Carolina scored touchdowns on just two of six red zone attempts, including their final drive. These miscues near the goal line could have resulted in a much different scoreboard at the end of the game.
“[The] story of the day [was] just missed opportunities,” Canales said. “You wonder what happens if you can get those points [in the red zone.]”
Penalties and incomplete passes killed four of the Panthers’ drives after they reached the red zone. This inefficiency was worsened by a stout Kansas City defense.Â
Carolina’s defense managed to sack Mahomes a season-high five times and shut down two late Kansas City drives that allowed the offense to tie the game. But Kansas City’s zero turnovers and ability to convert on third downs left the Chiefs in control for most of the game. The Panthers allow a league-leading 31 points per game, which was nearly matched on Sunday.
The final score ending in favor of the Chiefs was not lost on Young, who refused to use the ‘moral victory’ cliche and admitted the team needs to do better to win games.
“Coach said in the locker room that there aren’t moral victories. This is the NFL,” Young said. “At the end of the day, we lost. We didn’t do enough to get it done. That stings everyone in the locker room.”
The tight loss does prove the Panthers have improved across this season. Carolina’s first seven losses were by an average of 23 points and Sunday’s defeat is the team’s first one-score loss.
“We’re becoming us. We’re becoming a style of football that we want to pride ourselves on,” Canales said. “We took care of the football. Defensively we got after it… I think that the guys can feel what we’re trying to get done philosophically.”
Young similarly had a rough start to the year and was benched after the season’s first two games. He’s thrown a touchdown in each of his four games since returning to the starting role, which equals a career-high streak. The Panthers are 2-2 in his starts since his return.
Only once has Young thrown for more yards than he did on Sunday — a 312-yard performance against the Packers in Week 16 of 2023.Â
The bad outweighed the good in Young’s first 18 starts in the NFL but Sunday’s game proves there could be a bright future for the Panthers’ hopeful franchise quarterback.
The Panthers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC South matchup on Dec. 1 at 4 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium. The Buccaneers have won three straight games against the Panthers.
