The Panthers looked like they were on the road to a disaster in the first half of Sunday’s home game against the Dolphins, but they wound up pulling out a remarkable win.
Quarterback Bryce Young hit tight end Mitchell Evans for a touchdown with two minutes left to play to give the Panthers their second lead of the fourth quarter and their defense forced a Dolphins three-and-out with a Patrick Jones sack to give themselves a chance to run out the clock. They did exactly that after Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones was called for pass interference on a third down.
The 27-24 win came after the Panthers fell behind 17-0 in the first half. Young had a fumble and an interception that led to 14 of Miami’s points and the Panthers couldn’t find an answer for tight end Darren Waller in the early going. Both Young and the defense found better footing from there, however.
Waller didn’t catch a pass in the second half of the game and the Dolphins punted on six of their final seven possessions. Young avoided further miscues and kept feeding running back Rico Dowdle to good effect. Dowdle ran 23 times for 206 yards, including a one-yard score that put the Panthers up 20-17 with 6:10 to play. The Dolphins answered with a long touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle put the Dolphins back up less than two minutes later.
Dowdle left the game after a 16-yard run to kick off the game-winning drive, but Trevor Etienne pitched in with two good runs and Young hit wide receiver Xavier Legette and rookie wideout Jimmy Horn for sizable gains. The pass to Horn was a 17-yarder on fourth down and Young finished the day 19-of-30 for 198 yards and two scores to go with the interception.
Tagovailoa was 27-of-36 for 256 yards and three scores, but three sacks and a non-existent running game helped the offense sputter after their hot start.
The Panthers are now 2-3 and they’ll host the Cowboys on Sunday in Week 6. The 1-4 Dolphins will return home to host the Chargers.
