Cat Scratch Reader
The Panthers were looking for their first win of the season following two depressing losses to start the season. Luckily for them, they faced the Atlanta Falcons, a matchup nobody can ever truly predict! And needless to say, I don’t think many Panthers fans predicted this result. Let’s dive right in!
The Falcons started the game off hot with several easy completions from Michael Penix. The Panthers rush defense was pretty good, and they managed to hold the first drive in field goal range, which naturally the Falcons kicker missed horrifically, giving the Panthers offense decent starting field position. A couple of completions later, the Panthers were staring at 4th and 3 in decent scoring range, which Dave Canales elected to go for. Surprisingly, instead of the play going bad, Bryce Young hit Tetairoa McMillan for a beautiful 23 yard pass and catch. A 12 yard completion to Tommy Tremble put the Panthers on the 4 yard line, and then Bryce Young scampered in for the touchdown, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead on their first drive on offense! The Panthers then managed a 3 and out after a Falcons clock management snafu, and everything seemed to be going the Panthers way. Until Trevor Etienne muffed the punt return, Falcons took over with nice field position. Luckily, the Panthers defense once again held up, forcing another long field goal. Which the Falcons, once again, missed. The Panthers could not capitalize and were forced to punt as the first quarter winded down. Falcons took over on their own 10.
The Falcons managed to get past the 50 yard line again, but two short completions and an incompletion later, they punted for the first time in the game. The Panthers offense took over on their own 13 yard line. They leaned heavily on Tetairoa McMillan and the rushing game, but unfortunately a false start penalty and a missed timing throw by Bryce Young to Hunter Renfrow cut the drive off just as they were getting closer to the RedZone. Rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald nailed a 57 yard field goal to bring the lead to 10-0 for the Panthers. The Falcons took over, leaned on Bijan Robinson, but again were held to a punt after a nice pass deflection by Chau Smith-Wade on 3rd down. A bad looking punt gave the Panthers the ball on their own 31. Unfortunately, a penalty and a trip by Rico Dowdle forced a quick Panthers punt with 1:10 to go. With no timeouts, the Falcons ran out of time to position for a field goal. The Panthers open the second half with the ball.
The Panthers first drive ended with a dropped screen pass by Tetairoa McMillan that would have likely seen him hitting paydirt if he could corral it. The Panthers punted to the Falcons with good kick coverage to tackle the returner immediately. However, the Panthers defense once again came up strong, with arguably the biggest...
