The Carolina Panthers marched into Atlanta and took over Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Bryce Young dazzled as he threw 23/36 for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of those touchdowns being to Tight End Darren Waller who has re-adjusted to the NFL from retirement quite nicely. Young moves his career record against the division rival Falcons to 5-1 overall. Xavier Legette caught Two balls for 64 yards, one of which being a 55 yard pass from Bryce Young. 2nd year Wide Receiver Tet McMillan brought in 5 catches for 101 yards.
The Panthers defense enjoyed a much better performance than last week as they saw free agent signing Devin Lloyd have 9 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions (one being a pick 6), and fellow free agent signing Bobby Okereke have 9 tackles and an interception of his own. That defensive unit had two fumble recoveries as well for a total of 5 turnovers on the day.
Falcons QB Cooper Rush struggled mightily as before his eventual benching in the 3rd quarter, he threw 10/17 for 86 yards and 2 interceptions. Rookie undrafted free agent Jack Strand out of Division 2 program Minnesota State University Moorehead came into the game in relief of Rush, and got the first game jitters out of the way early as he threw an interception on his first career pass. Strand finished 8/15 for 59 yards and an interception.
The Falcons simply could not get their playmakers the Football, and it showed in this game. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski is now in the midst of his 2nd QB rough patch with his 2nd team, which begs the question: Is Stefanski to blame for his team’s QB issues?
The Panthers go into next week preparing for the Cleveland Browns, while the 0-2 Falcons will be working on a short week to go against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football.