PJ Walker outduels Tom Brady as Panthers stun Bucs, move to 2-0 in NFC South division
Starting consecutive games for the first time in his career, PJ Walker never dreamed he’d quarterback opposite Tom Brady, never mind take a one-score lead into halftime against the all-time great.
But Walker rose to the challenge, tossing as many touchdowns in the first half (one) as he had incompletions against Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
Behind a bulldozing offensive line, which featured center Bradley Bozeman making his first Panthers start, Carolina rushed for 173 yards and never trailed against the defending NFC South champions, winning 21-3.
“I am extremely proud of the men in that locker room. They continue to impress me,” interim coach Steve Wilks said. That definitely was not a team out there who was trying to tank. ... These men have too much character to even fathom tanking.”
Filling in for former Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey — who made his San Francisco 49ers debut Sunday — D’Onta Foreman had a game-high 118 rushing yards on 15 carries. Chuba Hubbard started the game and added 63 yards on nine carries and a touchdown.
Despite reports that quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield both could return next week against Atlanta, Walker demonstrated why he should be the team’s starting quarterback in Week 8. He finished with 173 yards on 16-of-22 passing. Most importantly, he smoothly executed Wilks’ game plan and did not turn the ball over while beating Brady.
“PJ had an outstanding performance,” Wilks said. “When you look at what he did today, we still have to evaluate the tape, but it’s gonna be hard to try to pull him out.”
The Panthers (2-5) are the only undefeated team in the NFC South (2-0).
Carolina was a 13-point home underdog going into Sunday. Yet, the Brady comeback everyone expected never materialized. Instead, Carolina doubled its halftime lead late in the third quarter when Foreman and Hubbard combined for 77 yards and a touchdown on two carries. Foreman took an inside rushing attempt 60 yards on the team’s longest play. Then, Hubbard hit a cutback lane score the very next play, putting Carolina up 14.
Last week, Walker completed one pass beyond the line of scrimmage. Against the Buccaneers, he pushed the ball downfield with confidence. Star receiver DJ Moore benefited most from Walker’s aggressiveness. The two connected for a toe-tapping 20-yard touchdown prior to halftime for the Panthers’ first score. Moore led the team with seven catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.
“There was a lot of pride today. You could feel the energy when you came in the building from the guys. Today we played a full 60-minutes and made a jump,” Walker said. “(I showed) I can be trusted with the football in my hand and can make the right decisions.”
Walker made all the right decisions. Eight of the Panthers’ 14 first downs came via Walker throws. The team was perfect in the red zone and had back-to-back second-half scoring drives to win the game.
Tampa Bay did not score until the fourth quarter. With 13:38 left to play, kicker Ryan Succop made a 27-yard field goal to cut the Panthers’ lead to 11. The drive took Brady 14 plays, nearly five minutes and traveled 67 yards.
“It feels great holding the goat to three points,” defensive end Brian Burns said. “Now that I have a sack on Tom and we got the dub, I think I’m going to have three glasses of Hennessy tonight and watch three movies.”
During the week defensive end Burns said he wanted to sack Brady. The two have played each other four times, and Burns had yet to sack the future Hall of Famer. With four minutes to play in the half, Burns beat tackle Tristan Wirfs with rush move that teleported him directly in front of Brady. He swallowed Brady for the 16-yard loss and showcased his signature Spider-Burns move in celebration.
Burns’ sack encapsulated how the Panthers defense frustrated Brady all afternoon. Carolina hit Brady three times and sacked him once. Getting pressure on Brady helped Carolina control the Buccaneers offense.
The Buccaneers were determined to score on their opening possession of the third quarter. Brady and receiver Mike Evans connected for 40 yards on three catches as Tampa Bay found a rhythm. But the Panthers’ run defense stuffed running back Leonard Fournette on consecutive plays when he only needed 1 yard. Linebacker Shaq Thompson and cornerback C.J. Henderson tackled Fournette behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-1, forcing a turnover on downs on the Panthers’ 25-yard line.
The Panthers defense held the Buccaneers to 2-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down. Tampa Bay ran 23 third-quarter plays and gained 124 yards, but was held scoreless.
“We played a full four quarters.” linebacker Shaq Thompson said. “The defense held Tom Brady and that explosive offense to three points. They had 238 yards rushing, and were 2-for-12 on third down. That’s a huge win for defense.”
In the first quarter, the Panthers’ offense dropped its opportunity to start fast.
On his first play from scrimmage, Walker launched a 45-yard yard pass intended for second-year receiver Terrace Marshall, who opened behind the Buccaneers’ secondary. Marshall slid under Walker’s pass but lost control as he went to the ground.
The play was initially ruled a catch, but later was overturned on a Tampa Bay challenge.
Marshall earned an expanded role after the team traded Robbie Anderson to Arizona last week. He made up for the drop later in the second quarter by converting a third-and-5 on a 20-yard catch down the right sideline. Walker squeezed a Cover 2 hole shot between the Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum and safety Antonie Winfield Jr. Winfield hit Marshall hard on the catch but the former LSU Tiger held on.
Marshall finished with two catches for 31 yards.
Both teams had a case of the early drops. Evans dropped what would’ve been a 64-yard score on the game’s third play. Evans beat cornerback Donte Jackson on a post route. He tracked Brady’s pass for what felt like minutes, only to drop the easy score.
Tampa Bay outgained Carolina 79 yards to 18 in the first quarter. Through seven games, the Panthers defense has allowed 13 first-quarter points, which is tied for the fewest in the league.
Carolina did not pick up its first down until the 13:30 mark of the second quarter but finished with 14 compared to the Buccaneers’ 17 first downs.
Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble put the final nail in the Buccaneers’ comeback hopes. Walker and Tremble connected for a 29-yard touchdown with 9:29 to play. The score put Carolina up three scores. Wilk said that was Walker’s best throw of the game.
“It is hard to say,” Wilks said, ”but the one to Tommy in the corner of the end zone was pretty impressive.”
Walker — who improved to 3-1 as a starter in his career — said he hopes to remain the team’s starter.
“I can make every throw but not every throw needs to be made,” Walker said. “That is what I’ve learned.”
Later in the victory locker room, Wilks said Walker, the offensive line and the team’s running backs all earned game balls. Owner David Tepper also presented Wilks with a game ball.
Carolina will face the Falcons next week in Atlanta for a chance at first place in the NFC South.
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 4:07 PM.
