Bryce Young dominated. The defense set a regrettable record. Dave Canales left smiling
Who are these guys, and what did they do with the Carolina Panthers of yesteryear?
That was the question posed in the loud locker room in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon, after the Panthers defeated the Falcons in overtime, 44-38 — a game that featured a five-touchdown performance from Bryce Young and so much more.
Some answers to that layered question about the identity of Sunday’s victors:
The 2024 Panthers are a 5-12 team. They’re led by a head coach who two seasons ago hadn’t even been a coordinator and a quarterback who needed two full seasons to earn his first road win.
They’re a team that boasts the worst scoring defense in NFL history. The 38 points the Falcons scored Sunday means the Panthers unit gave up 534 points this season — edging the 1981 Baltimore Colts by one point for most all-time.
They’ve been battered and bruised and embarrassed. They just wrapped up their seventh-straight losing season. They have 21 free agents set to hit the market — the tip of the iceberg known as the Panthers’ consequential and potentially topsy-turvy offseason.
And yet, these Panthers are also ... promising?
Riveting?
Dare anyone say ... ripe with potential?
Those last three identifiers are what prevailed Sunday. They were on display everywhere you looked.
You could see it be in Young’s career day, when he threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more and lived up to his “Carolina Reaper” nickname by eliminating the Falcons from playoff contention. (The Bucs clinched the NFC South divisional title right before overtime of Sunday’s game in Atlanta. Still counts.)
You could see it in the redemptive day of Miles Sanders, who ran for 66 yards and one touchdown and recorded three catches for 50 yards and another score. His rushing touchdown was in walk-off fashion, punctuating a day that personified everything he said in the locker room afterward. In his words, he showed “why I shouldn’t be on the sideline.”
You couldn’t exactly see it all on the defensive side, outside of an interception from cornerback Mike Jackson and a few pass rushes from Jadeveon Clowney. But this is an inextricable part of this Panthers team — a complicated product of a complicated season.
Coach Dave Canales answered to the team’s performance Sunday and offered a glimpse into his answer to the question: Who are these Carolina Panthers? Read a recap of his postgame presser below.
Opening statement after Panthers win
“In classic Panthers fashion, you end up on the six-inch line again. We’ve spent a good amount of time this year inside the 5-yard line. So the guys are comfortable playing there.
“First and foremost: Unbelievable to have Miles Sanders back here. 115, two touchdowns. For Miles to battle back, to get here to this game, just how special that was. And I could feel it in the week, just the smile that it brought the whole group when he was in the huddle. And just the moment on Friday, he comes over and says ‘Coach, I’m playing.’ And could just feel what it meant to be out there with his teammates. That was special.
“And how about Bryce? Being able to call whatever I wanted to call on the call sheet, knowing he was going to find a positive outcome. He was going to find a throwaway, a big play, a scramble for a touchdown. Just these different things. It’s so freeing that is, just being able to call whatever fits that area and not have to second-guess the calls, and he gave us that ability to do that today.
“And he’ll come up here and the first thing he’ll say is how awesome the offensive line played. The guys in Chandler Zavala getting in there and really playing well. And then, not just Miles, but Mike Boone had some really nice runs, and then Raheem (Blackshear) had some really nice runs. And those guys the challenge they took to run physical, and to be able to give us an opportunity to play our style. Just some really cool stuff.
“And I know defensively we gave up some yards, gave up some big plays, and they just kept battling. The Falcons gave us their best shot, but we were able to finish as a team, and I was really proud of that.”
Will Bryce Young be the starter in 2025?
“Well I’d say we’ll take it week-to-week, but we don’t got anymore weeks (laughs). So Bryce is our quarterback. I’m just so proud of the way he took the challenge. He just grew. Every week, he took new lessons, new things, applied it to his game, was engaged, challenging the guys. The operation was excellent.
“I got him a call late, we had to take a timeout there. He kind of saved me on one. It’s great to know we can make those decisions. But he’s done a great job also of continuing to push the group, regardless of the situation, to push the group. Working the sideline, working his teammates, and working on his game. So I’m really proud of him.”
On knowing Bryce Young is the guy going forward
“It’s huge. It’s a great feeling. It allows us to just look at the whole roster, to see what the investments need to be. It helps us to think about free agency and the draft with a lens knowing we got our guy. And now we can just build this team with the right mentality. And find the guys who can come in and challenge our roster, like we plan on doing every year.”
On Michael Penix Jr.’s performance
“He’s a stud. He’s an accurate passer. He threw it down the field, hit some really explosive plays, he’s got arm talent. He’s got the right demeanor, and I’m looking forward to a lot of great battles against Michael Penix.”
On Bryce Young’s TD pass to Tommy Tremble
“That was the design of it. But the thing that has allowed Bryce to make great plays as he’s built each week is knowing what we’re doing, knowing what we’re looking for and so he can make those quick decisions and be really decisive through his progressions. He just kind of felt that.
“It was a play that he ran against our defense on the last play of the day on Friday. We always have a fourth-and-1 challenge. Good vs. good. It’s half-speed, but it’s a fun moment, and we ran that play, and Tommy kind of made the adjustment the same way, and it was Demani Richardson came up and said, ‘That was the Friday play!’ He knew right away.
“I think for me, when our guys know what to expect from each other, when they can see the things happen and they can feel that, and we’re connected that way, that’s where we want to be. And that’s where we want to grow to.”
How do you absorb having the worst scoring defense in NFL history?
“I mean, if you’re going to be last, be the first last. Be absolutely No. 1 in that regard (laughs). I think there’s a lot of things we have to address. I know that. And we’ll get to work on that. But at the same time, I want to honor every single one of those guys who played so hard for us and tried to do what we asked them to do the whole time as we were troubleshooting issues and facing the different challenges that each team posed against our defense. And the guys never wavered. They just stuck together. They worked hard. They played hard and finished for each other, and that’s what I was most proud of.”
Why Xavier Legette didn’t play in the second half
“I don’t know the exact nature. But I know it was something in his hip that started to get a little bit tight there. And so if he wasn’t going to be able to be out there full speed and being himself, we wanted to make sure we took care of him. And David Moore did a great job coming in there. Got a touchdown late. So another testament to Xavier, just fighting and pushing through things and making himself available for his teammates.”
Inside the final play for Miles Sanders
“The moment happened pretty quickly. Is Jalen (Coker) in (the end zone)? Is he not? We had a play designed right before that and had a chance to rehash what was happening there and realized, ‘Look, we’re on the six-inch line right here. We have some opportunities.’ And I really wanted to give Miles that ball. And I know the guys did too.
“Bryce kind of came over to the sideline. I told him what I had, and he lit up and said, ‘Yeah, that’s great.’ It was a really cool moment for us.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM.
