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Carolina Panthers offense finally finds diversity in win over Atlanta Falcons

The Carolina Panthers completed a sweep of the rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Dave Canales’s offense turned in a season-best performance in the victory.
Russell Baxter|
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) prepares to throw in the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) prepares to throw in the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

Don’t look now, but Dave Canales’s have as many wins as the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Carolina Panthers’ rollercoaster season continued on Sunday with a 30-27 overtime victory at Atlanta. The Panthers rallied from a 21-7 second-quarter deficit for a three-point win. It marks the first time that Carolina swept this NFC South rivalry for the first time since 2013.

Quarterback Bryce Young threw for a career-best 448 yards, along with three touchdowns, and Carolina’s offense rolled up 486 total yards. The Panthers ran 75 offensive plays and while Young was involved in 50 pass plays (45 attempts and five sacks allowed), Canales’s ground game still managed to total 25 running plays.

In terms of the passing game, here's a very noteworthy observation from Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer.

While Young’s top choice for the afternoon was rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (12), four other players (Xavier Legette, Rico Dowdle, Jalen Coker, and Ja’Tavion Sanders) were targeted at least four times. McMillan finished the afternoon with career bests in catches (8), receiving yards (130), and touchdown grabs (2). It was his first 100-yard game since Week 2, and his two scoring grabs equaled his TD total in his first 10 games.

Tetairoa McMillan
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) catches the ball for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

So one week after finishing with season lows in offensive plays (50), total yards (175), and points scored (7), this looked like a totally different offense. Granted, Atlanta’s defense isn’t exactly a world beater this season, but it’s important to note that despite being sacked five times, Young never fumbled and the Panthers played turnover-free football for only the third time in 11 outings this season.

So can the Panthers build off this win, and this offensive efficiency? Carolina averaged 6.5 yards per play, and also came up big on fourth down (3-of-5). The assignment gets a lot tougher this week with a Monday night appearance at San Francisco.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.