Coming off a bye week and facing a severely injured Eagles team, the Carolina Panthers were expected to win on Sunday. How they came out victorious, however, deserves far more credit than it’s getting.
Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers went into Philadelphia on Sunday and beat the Eagles 25-14. Finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, the Panthers were actually the favorites heading into the contest riding momentum from a huge win over the Lions a couple of weeks ago and facing a very short-handed Eagles team.
Now Panthers fans know all too well that being expected to win is dangerous ground for Carolina historically. In recent years, it feels like every single time the Panthers are the favorites, they find a way to lose. Inconsistency has been lingering in Charlotte for far too long and Sunday may have shown that it’s finally gone.
The offense was not quite as explosive as we have grown accustomed to seeing this season for Dave Canales but it felt like they made plays when they absolutely had to. A lot of the credit for this win should go to the defense who took advantage of the hand they were dealt.
Tanner McKee was under center for the Eagles on Sunday, taking the spot of star quarterback Jalen Hurts who is dealing with a blood clot. Additionally, rushing threat Saquon Barkley was not in the backfield due to a hamstring injury.
A pass rush once described as potentially the worst in the NFL suddenly had the pocket collapsing on McKee all afternoon. Philadelphia had numerous negative plays, especially in the first quarter. Carolina had three sacks on the day with several other occasions that required McKee to just throw the football away.
One would think that since the Panthers had such a solid defensive performance, the weapons they have on offense surely means Carolina won by a large margin. However, that was not the case. The Eagles defense was just about as good as the Panthers’ was on Sunday.
Momentum swung to the home team at the start of the fourth quarter when DeVonta Smith caught a 19-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 19-14. Then the ball went back to the quarterback leading the NFL in passing yards per game.
Young took control of the offense and capped off a four play, 48 yard drive in just under two minutes with a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Tremble for his second touchdown of the day. This proved to be the last score of the game and the Panthers came out on top, adding stability to their current first place seat in the NFC South.
Even with the offense being “quiet”, the statistics on paper look like they were as explosive as ever. This should scare anyone who has to face the Carolina Panthers coming up. Not even at their full potential, Chuba Hubbard had 120 yards on the ground with a touchdown, Young had 281 passing yards, Jalen Coker had six receptions for 97 yards and superstar Tetairoa McMillan added six catches as well for 86 yards.
Young and the Panthers showed a great deal of maturity on Sunday, being able to respond to momentum shifts and take the win in a hostile environment. The start of that fourth quarter had Panthers fans saying to themselves, “Oh no. I have seen this movie before.” This time though, it was a much more enjoyable outcome for those in Uptown.
Carolina will look to solidify that top spot in the NFC South next week when they take on a division opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium.
