The Carolina Panthers earned an ugly win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired to score the upset in Lambeau, but it was far from a good offensive day for anyone except Rico Dowdle.
That includes Bryce Young, who overcame an early turnover and barely 50% completion all day to lead the game-winning drive that pushed Carolina to 5-4. Young’s mediocre day led to some apparent shade from Micah Parsons, however.
The Panthers did a phenomenal job of not letting Micah Parsons beat them. Thanks to otherworldly play by Ikem Ekwonu and a brilliant scheme that drew up a ton of double teams for the Packers edge rusher, Parsons recorded zero pressures all day Sunday.
After the loss, Parsons wasn’t very happy. He appeared to take a shot at Bryce Young, who went 11/20 for 102 yards and one interception. “If we lose a game like that in the NFL, we just didn’t play good. Not too many quarterbacks are throwing for 100 yards and winning,” he said.
This can be interpreted in two ways, but neither is particularly kind. Parsons is either saying that Young played poorly and most wouldn’t get away with that and win, or he’s criticizing his own offense for not being able to outdo a 100-yard passing day.
Parsons acknowledged that the Panthers did a nice job making life difficult on the pass rush, noting that he felt there were only two true dropbacks, meaning the Panthers moved the pocket or called rollouts to avoid pressure.
Either way, the edge seemed a little bit flustered that Young came away with an upset after playing pretty poorly. However, he did give credit to Young for deking the defense on the game-sealing run by Rico Dowdle.
Young signaled to Dowdle the player he was supposed to pick up in pass protection, pointing and whispering and everything. The Packers read that and expected pass. Since Carolina was out of field-goal range, it made sense, but then Dowdle gashed the off-balance defense for 19 yards. Parsons said it was just a good call and play execution by Young and the Panthers.
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