Cat Scratch Reader
A first half so full of incompetence that it was entertaining eventually turned into a total stinker as the Carolina Panthers put out another dud in primetime. They lost to the 49ers, 20-9.
The Christian McCaffrey revenge game started with five straight touches for the former Panther. He ended up with nine touches on a long, methodical drive to open the game. The Panthers defense did a good job containing most plays to modest gains, but they couldn’t get the stop or force the mistake they needed to upend the drive. It was finally capped off a pass to Juaun Jennings, who broke free from Jaycee Horn and Nick Scott to walk into the endzone for a touchdown.
The Panthers offense quickly made the mistake their counterparts did not. Ikem Ekwonu was absolutely demolished on a second down pass play and was called for a hold as he tried to save himself. That sabotaged the drive and forced a punt from Sam Martin, who masterfully downed the ball inside the 10.
This time, the defense got the big play they needed. Horn undercut a crosser by Jennings and picked off the pass, running it back inside the red zone. The Panthers worked the ball inside the five, but Bryce Young threw the ball right back to the 49ers on a play in which it looked like he could have cruised in for a rushing touchdown. Instead, he tried to loft a ball over traffic to Mitchell Evans, and it was picked off by a leaping Ji’Ayir Brown.
The 49ers took over on the 20 and again methodically marched down the field with short to intermediate gains. But it turns out it wasn’t so they could go down and score again. In fact, it was just to get close enough for Purdy to return Young’s favor. He lofted a ball deep down the middle of the field, and it was undercut by Mike Jackson in the endzone for the game’s third interception. The Panthers didn’t capitalize though, as Tetairoa McMillan dropped a wide open pass on third down that would’ve extended the drive.
Of course, on the first play of the ensuing 49ers drive, Princely Umanmielen popped the ball out from behind McCaffrey. There were two Panthers around the ball with no 49er in the area, but neither could corral the bouncing ball, and it was recovered by the offense for a 16 yard gain. Two plays later, Brock Purdy threw yet another interception to Horn, who dropped away from his area to undercut a seemingly wide open Pearsall.
A Jimmy Horn swing pass and a Rico Dowdle run gave the Panthers their second and third first downs of the game and took them down to the ten yard line. The offense ran three straight plays that did not score but also did not result in a turnover, which was a win at that point. The last of those plays was a swing pass to...
