They needed overtime and heroics from quarterback Bryce Young to do it, but the Carolina Panthers overcame a 14-point first-half deficit Sunday to defeat the Falcons on the road in Atlanta, 30-27, sweeping the season series against their division rivals for the first time since 2013.
Widespread criticism surrounded Young last week following back-to-back poor performances, and the third-year QB responded with perhaps the best game of his NFL career thus far. Young completed 31 of his 45 pass attempts against Atlanta for a franchise-record (and career-high) 448 yards and three touchdowns without committing a turnover.
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Carolina got on the board first with a touchdown on its opening drive, when Young found rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan through a tight window for a 7-yard score. But Atlanta responded with a vengeance, scoring three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions for a 21-7 lead. Then, Carolina flipped the script.
On the first drive of the third quarter, still trailing 21-10, Young lofted a deep pass that receiver Xavier Legette hauled in for a 36-yard TD.
From way downtown
📺FOX pic.twitter.com/SUQ9S9gnS1
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 16, 2025
After the teams traded field goals, Young led the Panthers on a nine-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a 12-yard touchdown to McMillan with just more than a minute remaining. McMillan’s second score of the day gave Carolina the lead.
TMac back in the end zone
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/FBOpT86DXC
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 16, 2025
Carolina converted the two-point conversion, but Atlanta stormed back to send the game to overtime. The Panthers forced a punt in the extra frame, then Young connected on a 54-yard catch-and-run to tight end Tommy Tremble to get in position for the 28-yard game-winning field goal.
“God is good,” Young proclaimed at the beginning of his postgame press conference.
What makes his record-setting day even more impressive is that he was hobbled most of the game with a right ankle injury sustained in the first quarter. He has already missed a game this season due to an injury on that same ankle.
“Pain is an accurate way to sum it up,” Young said with a smile when asked what he was thinking after re-aggravating the injury. “… I want to be out there to play. I don’t take this game from granted. The Lord has blessed me to be here — to have this opportunity. Any time that I am able to go, I always want to do that.”
Young battled through to lead the Panthers to their fifth one-score win this season, with three (including Sunday) coming on walk-off field goals. Although the Panthers have only won 12 games with Young as the starter, 10 of them have come on game-winning drives, more than any other quarterback since Young entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“Just faith. I believe in the Lord,” Young said in Sunday’s press conference when asked about the reputation he’s developing as one of the more clutch players in the NFL. “I know that everything’s already written, so I enjoy times like that to be able to go execute. I grew up — I’m sure most people did — in the backyard being able to say, ‘Oh, we have a two-minute drive to win the game. We’re able to go down and score with zero seconds left.’ I’m blessed enough to be able to do that in real life.”
Young calls himself a “Follower of Christ” in his Instagram bio and has spoken about his faith in Christ since his college days at Alabama. He was featured in the Fall 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine and on the Sports Spectrum Podcast that August.
“I’m based in faith,” Young said on the podcast. “I’m blessed to have the family that I do that introduced me [to faith] when I was young. Throughout my life, my relationship has grown with the Lord and my faith has improved. Through that, I work to be the best version of myself that I can be and to embody Christ in all that I do.”
The Pasadena, California, native captured the 2020 national championship (as a backup) and the 2021 Heisman Trophy while at Alabama. In the NFL, he’s been criticized at times for uneven play and praised at others for flashes of brilliance, especially after setting a franchise record for passing yards. Whether receiving criticism or praise, Young finds his deepest purpose in pleasing his Father in Heaven.
“Regardless of how someone else views me, whatever award, accolade, whatever someone may say — negative or positive — I appreciate and am grateful for the positive, and even for the negative,” he said on the podcast. “But at the end of the day, what motivates me and pushes me is to model myself after the Lord.”
The Panthers are sitting at 6-5, their best record through 11 games since 2018. Sunday’s win, paired with a Buccaneers loss, moved Carolina to just a half-game behind Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South.
The Panthers will try to keep pace or overtake Tampa Bay in a crucial “Monday Night Football” showdown next week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers (7-4). Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Young and his injured right ankle will be monitored throughout the week.
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