Recapping what Chris Tabor said after Carolina Panthers’ loss to Green Bay Packers
Carolina Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor explained the final result as succinctly as one could on Sunday — even if his words still tinged with the frustration of defeat.
“We just ran out of time,” he said.
That was true in the most literal of senses Sunday, when the Panthers failed to spike the ball with any time remaining on the clock to give them a chance to tie Sunday’s contest — which ended in a 33-30 loss to the Packers and was the most exciting one Bank of America Stadium has seen in a long time.
Tabor reiterated: “I tip my hat to the Packers. They made one more play than we did. That’s what it was. I love the fight in our guys. We ran out of time.
“That’s what happened. We ran out of time.”
Here’s a recap of Tabor’s postgame press conference, where he discussed a career day from rookie quarterback Bryce Young — who finished completing 23 of 36 passes for a career-high 312 yards and two touchdowns — as well as the game’s most controversial plays and more.
Chris Tabor opening statement
“With regards to injuries: Guys who did not finish the game. [Amare] Barno hurt his knee there. (Running back) Miles Sanders hurt his toe. And (cornerback) Troy Hill is in the concussion protocol. Those three guys did not finish the game.
“With regards to the game, I tip my hat to the Packers. They made one more play than we did. That’s what it was. I love the fight in our guys. We ran out of time. That’s what happened. We ran out of time. I’m really pleased with, obviously, how the offense is playing. We talked about that all during the week. If you go all the way back to that last drive of the previous game to win it there, I thought it carried over today. So, yeah, we are growing and those things but at the end of the day, we lost the game. That’s the bottom line. It’s a win-loss story in the NFL, and we didn’t get it done, so with that I’ll answer your questions.”
Does it matter that it was a close game, controversial ending?
“I think those will be great talking points for you. There is going to be a lot of great stories that can be written about that. We ran out of time.”
Explanation on Romeo Doubs catch?
“We were going to end up taking a timeout there anyway. Saw that the ball got bobbled. There was a lot of conversation from New York (home of the NFL’s replay command center). They went with the ruling on the field. So, we were going to burn the timeout there anyways so you might as well try to get the ball back.”
Did you think you had one second left at the end?
“Absolutely.”
Did you get any explanation from them?
“No.”
Is that why you’re upset?
“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed for those guys in that room. They laid everything out on the line right there, and we played. We ran out of time. We’re getting better. There’s no doubt about that. That’s evident of how we’re playing. I just — as I said earlier, I don’t like to lose. Nobody likes to lose. When you’re keeping score, you don’t like to lose, and we lost, so it hurts at this moment. It hurts because you care, and you care about the guys that you’re in battle with and all those things, and I love them to death. It just hurts.”
Did they talk to you about why they didn’t review the last spike at all?
“I’m sure it probably went to (the NFL’s replay command center), and they probably got some confirmation there. I’m probably not the first guy they wanted to talk to at the end of the game.”
On Bryce Young’s performance
“I thought they played well. That was evident. I thought our quarterback played well the whole game. I thought our receivers played well the whole game. They made tough, contested catches. You’re watching a group grow. As I said, as I stood up here last week, those guys made plays.
“You saw it carry over today. What we talked about was, since you did that, that was the standard, so know that’s what you’re chasing. I thought today they took the standard, they met it, and they moved it up some more. So that’s good for us because you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. I know that’s all coach speak, but that’s real. I saw a bunch of guys get better today.”
On Bryce Young going under center and picking up a first down via QB sneak
“It was fourth-and-short. Get the first down. We got it.”
More on Young being in ‘complete control’
“He was in complete control. He knew exactly how the game was being played. We were playing the game how we wanted to play it, and to be honest with you, I thought today we would have opportunities to score points, and we did. You saw a team, instead of kicking field goals, we’re scoring touchdowns. That’s a credit to our offense, our offensive staff. I thought they did a great job there. Our quarterback, he’s playing with confidence. He’s a good player. I’ve always said he’s a good player. Saw it today.”
On Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s play
“Yeah, he’s making plays in the jet sweep, stuff like that. He’s a really good football player. He’s a kid that just likes football, and when you’re around him and talking to him, I think you’ll probably feel that. He’s hurt right now, obviously, like we all are. But (I’m) really proud of where he started and where he’s going. I think that’s the deal, right? I know we haven’t won as many games as we’ve wanted to, but you’re seeing a player improve, and I think that’s important.”
What was the source of the Young-DJ Chark connection today?
“I thought they pitched and catched really well. On the same page. Bryce is extremely accurate. Chark’s a big guy that went up and made contested catches. Really proud of him. I just think that he took last week’s game and said, you know what, I’m just going to keep getting better, and that’s what he did. So really happy for him.”
