Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was unable to get a snap off as the Panthers found themselves in field goal range as the game clock ticked to zero in Charlotte on Christmas Eve.
Down 30-22, the Carolina Panthers took over at their own 30-yard line with 5:47 left in the game. Eight yards came out of the first two plays, before Young connected with receiver D.J. Chark for 20 yards. After an unnecessary roughness penalty was called on Packers defensive back Anthony Johnson Jr., Carolina took its next snap from the Packers 42-yard line.
On the ensuing play, Young connected with receiver (and former Minnesota Viking) Adam Thielen for a 17-yard gain. The drive came to an end after Young connected with Chark again for a 10-yard touchdown. Raheem Blackshear capped the scoring off with a converted two-point conversion to tie the game.
Green Bay took back over on its own 25-yard line. After two Aaron Jones rushes brought up a third-and-4, Packers quarterback Jordan Love launched a deep pass down the left side line. Romeo Doubs went up for the contested catch and came down with the pass. As he came down with the pass, it appeared the Doubs bobbled the ball out of bounds, after his knee had hit the ground. Carolina challenged the play, but it was ruled in favor of Green Bay.
From there, Love connected with Tucker Kraft for a 20-yard gain and after a few more rushes by Jones, Carolina was forced to call its timeouts. Green Bay eventually found itself in a third-and-12 situation from the Carolina 15-yard line. Patrick Taylor rushed forward for one yard and Green Bay ran the clock down as much as it could. With 22 seconds left, Packers rookie kicker Anders Carlson hit the go-ahead field goal.
Chark once again made an impact on Carolina’s final drive, taking a pass for 20 yards. That was followed up by Thielen making a 22-yard reception, before Young was unable to get a snap off in time to end the game.
“The bottom line is that we had a couple of plays at the end of the game to propel us to take the win,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
Love finished the game completing 17-of-28 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Both Doubs, who finished with 79 yards, and Dontayvion Wicks were on the receiving end of Love’s scores. It was Jones, though, who was the main driving force for the Packers this week. In what was probably his best performance of the year, Jones registered 127 rushing yards on 21 carries. Though Jones was a force on the ground, A.J. Dillon and Love both recorded rushing touchdowns.
“That’s how he’s been,” said Doubs, on Jones’ performance. “He has been that dude. Aaron’s had some trials and tribulations throughout the course of this year, but I am not surprised that he played the way that he did, because that is how he always plays.”
On the Panthers’ side of the ball, Young, who was the first pick in the past NFL draft, put on the best performance of his young career. The Alabama product recorded 312 passing yards and two touchdowns. Running back Chuba Hubbard finished with 43 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries. Ihmir Smith-Marsette added another rushing touchdown for the Panthers.
With the win, Green Bay now sits at 7-8 on the season, which is currently good for the ninth seed in the NFC. With 8-7 records, both the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks occupy the sixth and seventh seeds, respectively.
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