Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers almost pulled off the most improbable of comebacks, but they ultimately fell short to the Arizona Cardinals, 27-22.
The game got off to the most disastrous start possible from a Panthers perspective. A couple of ineffective plays set up a 3rd and 7, and the Cardinals brought the house. Young got swarmed by pressure and lost the ball, which was picked up and run in for a Cardinals touchdown.
The second drive was only marginally better. The Panthers moved the ball a little bit, but two designed touches for Xavier Legette went backwards and set up another third and long and Cardinals blitz. They again got to Young, who tries to throw while being hit, and his fluttering duck was easily picked off.
The defense made their own mistake when Mike Jackson committed a pass interference on a deep ball, though in his defense, he tried to play the badly underthrown ball and ran into the receiver. The defense was able to hold up after that and limit the Cardinals to a field goal.
The Panthers finally found their footing on their third drive. A good return was quickly followed by a 41 yard gain from Young to Tetairoa McMillan on a crossing route. They couldn’t punch it in with three straight incomplete passes and set up a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal.
The defense also found a bit of a groove once the game got going. They didn’t commit any catastrophic penalties and did a pretty good job making life difficult for the Cardinals offense. They forced a punt to give the offense a chance to tie the game. They did not do that despite another decent gain to McMillan and had to punt it back.
The Cardinals got a big gain from Trey McBride to start the ensuing drive but committed a couple of penalties to stop the drive in Panthers territory. They kicked another field goal.
The Panthers got one more chance to put points on the board before the half, but they couldn’t get their drive going. Young threw a low ball to Ja’Tavion Samders, who apparently cannot catch a ball this season. He let the ball hit the turf, forcing the another punt. It was run back into Panthers territory. The Panthers defense couldn’t hold this time, and Kyler Murray found Michael Wilson open up the seam for a touchdown to put the Cardinals up 20-3.
The first drive of the second half looked like it came from the 2024 season. Murray completed eight straight passes as the Cardinals effortlessly moved down the field and into the end zone. Fortunately the Panthers were able to answer this time. They picked up a 4th down on their own long scoring drive. Young found Hunter Renfrow in the end zone for his first Panthers touchdown. They tried a run up the middle for two, but it was stuffed.
The quarter ended with the Cardinals in a...
