Tetairoa McMillan lone silver lining for Panthers offense in another awful first half

Carolina has a future star in their first-round draft pick. It's a shame about the rest of the team around him.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) runs off the field before an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. | [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

For the second straight week, the Carolina Panthers offense doesn't look like it was ready to get off the bus. On Bryce Young's first third down of the game he got clobbered on a blitz by the Arizona Cardinals, resulting in a fumble that got returned for a touchdown. The next time around Young took another hit from an unblocked blitzer and threw an inadvisable pass that got picked off.

The Panthers' run game hasn't looked a whole lot better, as Chuba Hubbard has been limited to just five yards on four carries thus far. Fortunately, there's at least one silver lining for this offense: rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who ripped off a 40-yard catch and run.

TMac with a huge gain

📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/QoFO4Wo9Y5
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 14, 2025

That may be the high water mark for the Panthers offense in the first half, but it's not the only catch McMillan has made. About halfway through the second quarter McMillan already has totaled four catches for 70 yards.

Tetairoa McMillan with a smooth move after the catch and tough finish to pick up the first pic.twitter.com/GieuYgV1wA
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 14, 2025

It's clear McMillan is by far the most talented pass-catcher on this team, especially with 2024 rookies Xavier Legette and Ja'Tavion Sanders flailing again.

If the Panthers can find at least one other weapon and learn how to protect against extra rushers they might even be competitive on offense some day. Until then, this is likely to be a pretty ugly season on this side of the ball. Carolina trails 10-3.

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