The Carolina Panthers traveled to Philadelphia on the heels of two very close losses hoping to come out on the winning side of things. They took two blows early, losing both Raheem Blackshear and Jonathon Brooks in the first quarter. For Brooks, it was a non-contact injury and he appeared to be favoring the same knee that he had ACL surgery on last season.
Nevertheless, Carolina struck first with a 38 yard field goal to take an early lead with 1:09 to play in the first quarter. The Eagles responded with a 70-yard drive capped by a 1-yd touchdown by quarterback Jalen Hurts. Not to be outdone, the Panthers once again captured the lead when Bryce Young hit tight end Tommy Tremble on 4th & goal from the 3 yard line with 7:48 to play in the second quarter.
Carolina’s defense held Philly to a 3-and-out and had an opportunity to add to their lead going into the intermission. Young was intercepted by CJ Gardner-Johnson on third down near midfield with under two minutes remaining. The Eagles capitalized on the turnover, marching downfield with a 14-yard scramble by Hurts setting up the go ahead touchdown. Devonta Smith hauled in the 3-yard pass with Jordan Fuller trailing in coverage with 14 seconds left in the half to put the Eagles up 14-10.
Philly got the ball to start the second half but left points on the field when Jake Elliott’s 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. On Carolina’s first possession, they went 12 plays with Chuba Hubbard hitting pay dirt from 1 yard out to put the Panthers ahead. Pineiro missed the extra point making the score 16-14 in favor of the Panthers with 2:49 to play in the third quarter. Now we head to the final period.
It was not necessarily a back breaker at the time, but Hurts escapes a second straight sack on the series and scrambled 35 yards down to inside the 10 to set up first & goal. Two plays later, Hurts connected with a crossing Grant Calcaterra for the touchdown. Elliot missed the extra point, but Carolina’s Chau Smith-Wade jumped offsides and the Eagles took advantage. With the ball at the 1-yard line, Philadelphia opted for the 2-point conversion and was successful, giving them what proved to be the final points of the game. The score sat at 22-16 with 13:45 left in the game.
The defense came up with a stop, but Philly’s special teams unit made a great play, downing the punt at the Panthers 2-yard line; forcing Young and co. go have to go 98 yards to win the game. Facing third down from the 2, Young found rookie receiver Xavier Legette for a 31 yard connection and a fresh set of downs. Later in the drive, veteran Adam Thielen hauled in a 13-yard pass on fourth down to keep Carolina’s hopes alive. Driving down to the Eagle’s 32-yard line, Young scrambled and almost connected with Legette on a deep pass within a breath of the goal line. However, the rookie couldn’t complete the catch bringing up 3rd & short. Two penalties and an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the Panthers hopes of a big comeback win on the road.
It’s Carolina’s third one-score loss in as many weeks and they head home to host the Dallas Cowboys and hopefully return to the win column.
