Eagles 21, Panthers 18: Carolina collapses late as Darnold throws 3 interceptions
The Carolina Panthers came from ahead to lose in devastating fashion Sunday, giving up the go-ahead touchdown with 2:38 to go to lose to Philadelphia, 21-18.
The game-winning touchdown was set up by Philadelphia blocking a punt by Carolina’s Joseph Charlton with four minutes to go, giving the Eagles the ball at Carolina’s 27. Carolina led 18-13 at the time. From there, quarterback Jalen Hurts got the team into the end zone, rushing for a 6-yard TD — his second rushing score of the game.
Philadelphia went for two and Hurts eluded a rush and threw a dart to DaVonta Smith, who caught it to give the Eagles a 21-18 lead.
The fourth-quarter collapse dropped Carolina to 3-2. And although the defense gave up that final TD, this was a loss that has to be pinned on Carolina’s offense more so than anything else.
Carolina’s offensive line ranged from mediocre to terrible, giving quarterback Sam Darnold little time to throw the ball. Darnold did poorly when he had time, too, throwing three interceptions and missing several open receivers. Carolina blew a 15-6 halftime lead, scoring only three points in the second half.
Carolina still had a final chance to win or tie the game, getting the ball at its own 25 with 2:38 to go and all three timeouts. But instead Darnold threw his third interception of the game with 1:57 left.
The Panthers still had all three of their timeouts, but Philadelphia rushed for two first downs and the Eagles (2-3) were able to bleed out the clock to finish a forgettable final five minutes for Carolina. “I’m disappointed about today, and really disappointed about the second half,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said. And, Rhule said: “I can’t throw this on any one guy. It’s on us. I start with me and work backward.”
Other Panthers-Eagles notes
▪ Carolina’s offensive line once again struggled. This time, with normal left tackle Cam Erving out, the Panthers switched Taylor Moton to left tackle to protect Darnold’s blind side and inserted rookie Brady Christensen into the starting lineup at right tackle. It didn’t help.
▪ Former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen was in the broadcast booth Sunday, calling his second straight Carolina game for Fox Sports. During one commercial, Olsen was acknowledged on the big screen at the stadium and received a standing ovation.
▪ Panthers kick returner Alex Erickson has quietly become a field-position expert. He had several fine returns Sunday, including a kickoff return of 39 yards and a punt return of 22.
▪ Rookie running back Chuba Hubbard was a bright spot, rushing 24 times for 101 yards. It was his first 100-yard game in the NFL.
▪ The Eagles have a powerful fan base around the country and so it wasn’t much of a surprise that there was a lot of green in the stands. It was an occasional surprise how loud the Eagles fans were, though, when their team did something good. Toward the end, those in green were cheering a lot.
▪ Darnold and Robby Anderson again had trouble connecting, as they have for much of the first five games. Darnold underthrew an open Anderson by a hair on what would have been a long touchdown pass. And Anderson dropped a tough but catchable ball on third-and-short with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
On the play after that came the blocked punt. Anderson was targeted seven times but only caught two of them, for 30 yards. Fox Sports cameras caught him obviously upset toward the end of the game, yelling on the sideline.
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 4:15 PM.
