CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The visiting locker room at Bank of America Stadium was nearly empty Sunday when Baker Mayfield limped toward his stall with a protective boot on his right foot.
The veteran quarterback had willed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a win on one good leg. He was tired, hurting and ready to leave. Spotting a couple of Charlotte reporters hanging near his locker, Mayfield told them he was done with his media responsibilities.
But as he stuffed his cleats into a travel bag, Mayfield was willing to go on the record on one topic: Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, who brought his team back with a fourth-quarter drive for the second week in a row, only to see an opponent answer and win on a walk-off field goal.
The Panthers (3-9) are still figuring out how to win under first-year coach Dave Canales and a young quarterback. But after watching Young throw for 298 yards on 46 throws without a turnover, Mayfield was sure of one thing.
“I thought Bryce played his balls off,” he said.
Young and Mayfield became acquainted while shooting a Nissan “Heisman House” spot, so Mayfield may have some bias toward the former Alabama quarterback.
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But there are few people better equipped to talk about what Young has experienced his first two seasons than Mayfield, the 2018 No. 1 overall pick who was left for dead in Charlotte before having his career resuscitated by Canales in 2023 during their lone year together in Tampa.
“Speaking from experience of the ups and downs of the league, see it through, come out on the other side and it makes you stronger in the end,” Mayfield said. “So I’m proud of him. And obviously, knowing who he’s working with now is a big part of that with the positivity and confidence aspect of it. So he’ll be all right.”
The Panthers’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Bucs dropped Young’s record as a starter to 4-19. But Mayfield said he believes Young can be a franchise quarterback. Canales may not be as convinced as Mayfield, but Young has at least put himself back in the conversation after a Week 3 benching following a rough start to Year 2.
Asked about those who were ready to bury Young two games into his second season, Mayfield said: “Yeah, well, they were worried about the wrong people.”
The Panthers look every week like they have a lot of the right people in place — from the front office to the coaching staff to the locker room. But as Young told his teammates in a profanity-laced, post-game speech after last week’s 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Panthers just aren’t quite there, yet.
The message from Panthers’ players Sunday was essentially the same.
“It sucks because we’re trying to do something special and we’re not there yet. We’ve gotta learn to win games like this,” right guard Robert Hunt said. “And once we learn how to win games like this, it’ll be a different outcome. We’ll feel a lot better.”
As the Panthers try to wrap their heads around another gut-punch loss, The Athletic examines how Sunday could have turned out differently.
1. If officials rule Adam Thielen scored at the end of the first half
With the game tied at 10 in the final seconds of the first half, Young fired a pass to Thielen near the back of the end zone. Thielen bobbled the ball before corralling it as he went to the ground, and appeared to get his knee inbounds for a touchdown.
But game officials — who were down a man after umpire Carl Paganelli left in the first quarter with an injury — called it an incomplete pass. The replay officials in New York reviewed the play, and couldn’t determine whether Thielen maintained possession while going to the ground and the ruling on the field stood.
“On one of the angles — and there were not a lot of available angles and we didn’t have a shot to overturn it — as he is rolling over, you can see at least one hand come off the ball,” NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth told a pool reporter. “So with an on-field ruling of incomplete, we would have to show that he had control to award him a touchdown.”
Butterworth said every NFL game has at least nine broadcast cameras, but there weren’t as many cameras at the Panthers-Bucs game as others.
Thielen called the NFL’s explanation “absurd.”
“They told me that my right hand came off the ball, which is crazy to me because the ball never moved. So my hand moves but that’s fine,” he said. “And my left hand was (secure). That’s why right away when I got up I was like, that thing’s a catch because I knew my left hand was locked on the whole time.”
Transcript of pool report w/ replay exec Mark Butterworth, who noted there weren’t as many cameras at this game as others. pic.twitter.com/a36R7FU3m7
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 2, 2024
Instead of taking a 14-10 lead into halftime, the Panthers settled for an Eddy Pineiro field goal. And while pointing out points are at a premium in any game, Thielen was upset for not catching the ball cleanly.
“I knew I was obviously in(bounds), but at the same time I should’ve caught it the first time,” he said. “So can’t put it in the refs’ hands — and New York’s hands, either.”
2. If Pineiro keeps his streak intact
Pineiro entered the game with the most accurate field goal percentage in NFL history. His 47-yarder in the first quarter was his 41st successful field goal in a row at Bank of America Stadium, tying Graham Gano’s franchise record. Then Pineiro proceeded to miss two in a row (from 38 and 45 yards) in the second quarter, ending his streak and costing the Panthers six points in a game they lost by three.
“I take full responsibility for those. I just missed them left,” Pineiro said. “I just have to pick a better target and just follow through and get through the ball.”
Pineiro’s rare off-day was part of a bigger issue for the Panthers, who bogged down in the red zone the past two weeks. The Panthers had 10 red zone chances against the Chiefs and Bucs, resulting in six field goals, three touchdowns and one missed field goal.
“We gotta get touchdowns in those situations,” Canales said. “Really close stuff last week. Really close stuff this week. That’s just us fine-tuning the chemistry, fine-tuning the landmarks, just making sure we finish that way.”
3. If Chuba Hubbard holds on to the ball
The Bucs (6-6) failed to score on their first overtime possession, with Chase McLaughlin missing a 55-yard field goal attempt. That gave the Panthers excellent starting field position at their 45. After a 5-yard Young scramble, Thielen pulled down a one-handed, 16-yard highlight catch to put the Panthers at the Bucs’ 34.
But on the next play, linebacker Anthony Nelson stripped running back Chuba Hubbard and the Bucs’ Yaya Diaby recovered the fumble on the 29 before a diving Taylor Moton could get to it. It was Hubbard’s third lost fumble this season and fifth of his career. And it was costly. Instead of setting up Pineiro for a potential game-winning kick, the Bucs moved quickly down the field and won it on a 30-yard kick by McLaughlin.
“It obviously sucks,” Hubbard said. “Game on the line and all we have to do is run the ball and kick a field goal. Everyone is trusting you with the ball. … Obviously it’s a horrible way to lose but all I can do is own it and get better.”
As Tampa Bay celebrated McLaughlin’s game-winner, Hubbard sat alone on the Panthers’ bench for a couple of minutes before walking to the exit without talking to anyone. But his teammates were supportive of a player who recently signed a four-year, $33.2 million extension because of his production and his lead-by-example professionalism.
“He puts so much in his preparation that there’s a guy that you just say, ‘Hey, man, this is football. That stuff happens. We know your heart. We know what you’re trying to do,’” Thielen said. “We love that guy and it’s because of what he puts in week in, week out. I know not one person in this locker room is thinking about him losing us that game. That is the farthest thing from the truth.”
That is Chuba Hubbard still sitting on the Panthers bench. pic.twitter.com/QAt3OefXIj
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 2, 2024
4. If the defense makes a key stop
When Patrick Mahomes reeled off a 33-yard scramble to help lead the Chiefs to a come-from-behind win, you can kind of live with it. But Sunday was just the latest example of a defense that can’t stop the run and has trouble getting off the field.
When Jadeveon Clowney stepped on Mayfield’s right ankle in the second half, Mayfield returned after missing two plays — and promptly threw an interception to Xavier Woods. But Mayfield and the Bucs’ backs ran roughshod over the Panthers from that point forward. Tampa Bay scored on four of its last five possessions (including overtime), and the only drive that didn’t produce points was the one that ended with McLaughlin’s 55-yard loss.
If someone — anyone — on defense makes a game-changing play like Nelson’s in the game’s final moments, there’s a good chance they send Mayfield home with a loss.
“(With) the run defense, it always comes down to being in the right place,” rookie nickel Chau Smith-Wade said. “If they’re gassing us on the run, maybe somebody is out of position or they’re not it hitting it hard enough or fast enough. … We just have to play faster and finish.”
(Top photo of Adam Thielen: Bob Donnan / Imagn Images)
