Many probably expected Sunday’s game between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams to be a routine win for a Rams team that has been looking Super Bowl-caliber. But instead, the outcome went in a different direction.
The Panthers scored a surprising 31-28 win with some clutch play from quarterback Bryce Young. He completed 15 of 20 pass attempts for 206 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. His 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with 6:34 to go in the fourth quarter put his team ahead for good.
Sunday’s game resulted in Young becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to achieve 11 game-winning drives, surpassing the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen by 36 days.
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This was Young’s fifth game-winning drive of the season, which, as of this writing, ties him with Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and the Denver Broncos’ Bo Nix for the most such drives in the NFL this season.
He has come a long way from the seemingly lost signal-caller he appeared to be two seasons ago when he was a rookie. He was briefly benched last season by coach Dave Canales, but he regained his starting spot shortly afterward and started to play solid football down the stretch.
On Sunday, Young got an assist from the Panthers’ defense. Los Angeles got the football back after his dime to McMillan and had the opportunity to retake the lead, but after it got to Carolina’s 31-yard line, quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked by Derrick Brown and turned the ball over. Overall, Stafford completed 18 of 28 passes and had 243 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, but he had three turnovers, with the other two coming on interceptions.
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With a 7-6 record, the Panthers are just half a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are in first place in the NFC South. Not many saw them being in position to possibly make the playoffs when this season started, but Young’s heroics have gotten them to this point.
They’re scheduled to face Tampa Bay at home on Dec. 21 and on the road in Week 18.
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