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11/16 17:24 CST Bryce Young passes for franchise-record 448 yards to lift
Panthers to 30-27 win over Falcons in OT
Bryce Young passes for franchise-record 448 yards to lift Panthers to 30-27 win
over Falcons in OT
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- Bryce Young fought off the criticism that accompanied his
modest 124 yards passing in an ugly loss to New Orleans last week.
Young also fought through first-quarter pain in his right ankle against
Atlanta, which which forced him to be checked in the locker room and appeared
to threaten his ability to return.
The result of Young's resilience was the most yards passing in a game in
Carolina Panthers history.
Young threw for 448 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and Ryan
Fitzgerald kicked a 28-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Panthers to a
30-27 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Young's 54-yard pass to Tommy Tremble set up the winning kick for Carolina
(6-5), which completed its sweep of reeling NFC South rival Atlanta.
The Panthers moved to within one-half game of first-place Tampa Bay in the
division following the Buccaneers' 44-32 loss to Buffalo.
Young completed 31 of 45 passes despite being escorted to the locker room late
in the first quarter with a right ankle injury. He missed only one snap.
"I was able to come back and get re-taped," Young said. "Regardless, I just
wanted to be back with my guys.
"I don't take these games for granted. You know, the Lord blessed me to be
here, to have this opportunity. And any time that I am able to go, I always
want to do that. So in the moment, you're just working through pain."
Young threw a go-ahead 12-yard touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan with 1:08
remaining to give Carolina a 27-24 lead. But Zane Gonzalez kicked a 45-yard
field goal for Atlanta with 16 seconds remaining to force overtime.
The Falcons (3-7) suffered their fifth straight loss, including back-to-back
overtime defeats.
"We got to find a way to make plays," Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. "I keep
saying it every single week: Somebody's got to make a play at the end, whether
it be offense, defense or special teams. We had some opportunities and were not
able to get it."
Bijan Robinson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns, but the Falcons couldn't
overcome the loss of Michael Penix Jr. to a knee injury in the third quarter.
Backup Kirk Cousins couldn't move the offense in overtime.
McMillan had eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Young's go-ahead scoring pass was set up by Rico Dowdle's 28-yard run to the
10. A replay review ruled Dowdle stepped out of bounds on what was initially
ruled a 38-yard touchdown run by the officials.
Atlanta's secondary was short-handed with cornerbacks Dee Alford and Mike
Hughes inactive. Young and the Panthers targeted fill-in cornerback Natrone
Brooks often, including on Young's 36-yard scoring pass to Xavier Legette in
the third quarter, cutting Atlanta's lead to 21-16.
Brooks then fumbled the kickoff return, giving the Panthers the ball at the
Atlanta 32. Young was stopped by Kaden Elliss on a fourth-down run from the
Atlanta 8.
Penix left in the third quarter with a left knee injury with Atlanta leading
21-16. Penix missed the Falcons' 34-10 loss to Miami on Oct. 26 with a bone
bruise on his left knee. Morris had no update on Penix, who completed 13 of 16
passes for 175 yards after struggling with accuracy in last week's 31-25
overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin.
Resilient Panthers Carolina rallied after trailing 21-7 in the second quarter. "It's part of our identity; we embrace that," Young said. "It's just resilience. We talk about it. Whatever it was, it's on to the next play." Strong start Young was 7 of 8 for 67 yards, including a 7-yard scoring pass to McMillan, on Carolina's opening drive. The strong start gave him half of his full-game total of 124 yards passing in last week's 17-7 loss to New Orleans. Passing Cam Newton Cam Newton held the previous Carolina record with 432 passing yards against Green Bay on Sept. 18, 2011. "It's definitely an honor. I have so much respect for Cam and all he has accomplished," Young said. "To be able to be mentioned with Cam, it's definitely an honor." Pressure on Morris Morris, in his second season, acknowledged the responsibility for another close loss will fall on him. "You know, we've lost a bunch of games in a row in tight moments, and you got to find a way to win those games," Morris said. "It definitely is on me. There's no such thing as a losing team. There's only a losing leader, and I'm the leader, and we lost." Injuries Panthers: LB Trevin Wallace was held out with a shoulder injury he suffered last week. Claudin Cherelus moved up as the starter. Falcons: WR Drake London was ruled out with a knee injury at the start of overtime after he had seven catches for 119 yards. ... The defense was short-handed as Alford (concussion), Hughes (neck), DE Leonard Floyd (hamstring) and DL Zach Harrison (knee) were inactive. Another notable inactive was LG Matthew Bergeron (ankle), while RG Chris Lindstrom (foot) started after returning to practice Friday. Up next Panthers: Visit San Francisco in a Monday night game on Nov. 24. Falcons: Visit New Orleans next Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl |
