Bryce Young-Tetairoa McMillan connection powers Panthers to win. Fast thoughts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryce Young threw for 329 yards as Carolina beat Detroit 32-26 and took NFC South lead.
- Tetairoa McMillan posted 14 catches, 192 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
- The Panthers entered the Week 5 bye monitoring Jaelan Phillips and Monroe Freeling.
The M-V-P! chants rained down in front of a raucous, rarely-seated, jam-packed Bank of America Stadium crowd early in the fourth quarter on Sunday night.
It was a fun wrinkle in an eventful game — one that saw a spectacular day from quarterback Bryce Young, a redemptive day from Tetairoa McMillan and a 32-26 Panthers win over Detroit that now puts Carolina at 2-2 and in first place in the NFC South.
Still, that moment, as Panthers fans screamed those sacred three letters into the din, there was a question:
Who was the crowd anointing as the league’s most valuable player?
The obvious answer is Young, the Panthers’ fourth-year quarterback who played one of his best games as an NFL quarterback on Sunday evening. His stat-line tells part of the story: 29 of 41 for 329 yards for a passer rating of 110.7. It added on to a season that was already special entering Sunday night, as Young led the league in passing yards at the time.
The rest of the story — the rest of why the crowd was chanting for him — could be explained by everything else, though. By the way Young stood strong in a regularly porous pocket. By the way he and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik brought to life a quick offense — replete with run-pass options and quick slants and Young’s improvisational magic. By the way the quarterback wrung the most out of John Metchie and a tight-end-by-committee crew with two of his three starting receivers out.
It must’ve been Young. Had to have been, right?
No way they could’ve been referring to Tetairoa McMillan, too, right?
It would be a home-crowd-favortism thing to do, surely, as McMillan hasn’t had the season-to-date that Young has had. But McMillan had the kind of game that demanded some special attention. The second-year wide receiver finished with 14 catches on 16 targets for 192 yards and two touchdowns. It was the connection that the Panthers saw a bunch of last year — in McMillan’s Offensive Rookie of the Year season — but it was one that they were waiting on in 2026.
That connection came up big in the largest moment. It was a third-and-14 with just over three minutes to go in the game. Young rolled to his right, evading Aidan Hutchinson’s pressure, and threw a perfect pass along the sideline in which McMillan stretched his arms and hauled in the catch using all 6-foot-4 of him, his toes to his fingertips. That looked like, at the moment, it would seal the offensively charged contest.
There was one more scare. The Panthers ultimately punted the ball to the Lions with just over two minutes remaining in the contest only up six — 32-26 — but the Panthers held strong for the win.
When it was all said and done, the Panthers won the fourth-down battle (2-for-2 vs. the Lions’ 1-for-3), the game on the ground (127 rushing yards to Detroit’s 46) and time of possession (33:15 to Detroit’s 26:45). Starting running back Chuba Hubbard also had a game to remember: 20 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers are the only NFC South team with two wins, as of Sunday evening. The Falcons (1-2) and Saints (1-2) face off on Monday night.
Here are three takeaways from the Sunday night’s electric game.
Tetairoa McMillan’s redemptive day
You could describe McMillan’s night in a few different ways.
You could call it historic. McMillan, by early in the third quarter, had notched his 11th catch for 162 yards and two touchdowns. That stat-line alone made him the third player in franchise history — and first since Steve Smith in 2005 — with 10-plus catches, 150-plus yards and a touchdown in a game. (Muhsin Muhammad was the other player, according to Panthers communications.)
You could call McMillan’s day redemptive, too. The second-year wideout didn’t even need until halftime to notch 110 yards, his season-high to date. His three previous games in 2026: 75 reception yards, then 101, then 17.
Last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year was also speedy. Shifty. Creative. Most important? He was dynamic.
Canales told reporters earlier in the week, after an afternoon in Cleveland in which he didn’t get many opportunities, that it was on the coaching staff to get McMillan involved in different ways. And that’s what happened. He was a menace in the quick game — particularly on run-pass option plays that essentially served as the Panthers’ run game before the rushing offense opened up in the second half — and even hauled the kind of 32-yard go-route in man coverage the Panthers used their No. 8 overall pick for a year ago.
A bruised Panthers secondary
The over/under in this contest was 50.5 total points. And that was handled pretty easily.
The Panthers scoring so many points might’ve been a bit surprising. Starting receiver Jalen Coker was ruled out right before game time. Xavier Legette was placed on injured reserve on Saturday. Young was having to throw to McMillan — and then John Metchie, Brycen Tremayne and a motley crew of other receivers.
But the Lions scoring? That was expected. The Panthers learned this week that they’d be without starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson — just in time for them to face a Top 5 offense led by quarterback Jared Goff, running back extraordinaire Jahmyr Gibbs and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
And the Lions took advantage.
The Panthers tried to scheme around it. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero deployed a lot of three-safety personnel packages on Sunday, with safety and everything-playmaker Tre’von Moehrig essentially serving as the team’s big nickel (or as a third linebacker). Rookie safety Zakee Wheatley started and made some plays. Second-year safety Lathan Ransom stunted one drive when he lowered the boom on Gibbs in the first half.
The extra defensive back only went so far, though. After the Lions’ seventh drive of the night — or the second drive of the second half — fourth-string cornerback Akayleb Evans had been targeted eight times for six receptions for 136 receiving yards, according to Pro Football Focus. Goff’s final numbers were quite impressive, too: 32 of 52 for 412 yards and one touchdown.
The defense, when all was said and done, worked out fine Sunday, though. Winning absolves all. The defense even held on in perhaps the game’s most pivotal moment. On what turned out to be the Lions’ final consequential drive of the contest — with 7:02 left in the game, with the Panthers leading 32-19 — the defensive backfield bent but didn’t break and forced a turnover on downs that gave the ball to Young and let him try to seal it from there.
(The Lions suffered back-to-back delay of game penalties to force a fourth-and-20 in that moment, yes. And the loud crowd certainly helped with that, sure. But some credit should go to a bludgeoned defense that found a way to win Sunday.)
Another handful of Panthers injuries to monitor
The Panthers also have a few ailments to keep track of during the Week 5 bye.
The two important ones:
Veteran pass rusher Jaelan Phillips appeared to tweak his hamstring during the game Sunday. He limped to the sideline in the fourth quarter and was immediately deemed questionable and was later downgraded to out.
Rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling exited Sunday’s contest early, too, with a knee injury. Reserve right tackle Stone Forsythe finished the game in Freeling’s stead.
This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Bryce Young-Tetairoa McMillan connection powers Panthers to win. Fast thoughts."
