6 winners and 4 losers from the Panthers win over the Lions on SNF: Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan have nearly make history while more injuries pile up

The Carolina Panthers knocked off the Detroit Lions 32-26 on Sunday Night Football in Charlotte, and a mix of standout performances and costly injuries will shape the vibes going into the Week 5 bye.

The Carolina Panthers just pulled off what could end up being their biggest win of the season. Under the lights on Sunday Night Football at Bank of America Stadium, Carolina beat the Detroit Lions 32-26 in a game everyone expected to be a shootout.Both defenses had their issues going into this one, and both passing games had the capacity to put up big numbers. But, few people expected the Panthers’ defense would be the ones to to stand up the way it did. Still, what really decided this game was the connection between quarterback Bryce Young and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Both had near-record-setting nights for the Panthers.Let’s get into the winners and losers from this one, because it was a significant one.

I have been really really impressed with the way Young has played through the first four games of this season. The stats weren’t that good in the Week 3 loss to the Browns, but he still showed poise and resiliency in that game. In the other three, he has looked tremendous both on the field and on the stat sheet.Against Detroit on Sunday, Young threw for another 300 yards with two touchdown passes and no turnovers. He started the game 11-of-11 passing and was absolutely in the zone. What’s even crazier is that Carolina was down multiple starters on the offensive line and multiple starting wide receivers, and Young still put up those numbers to go toe-to-toe against a top offense in a primetime game. He’s called “Big Game Bryce” for a reason. This is the kind of statement game that can earn him a second contract with the Panthers.

As for McMillan, he nearly broke the franchise single-game receiving record and finished 10 yards shy of breaking Steve Smith’s record. He finished with a career-high 14 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers needed a huge game from McMillan after he had only two receptions against the Browns. And with no Xavier Legette and no Jalen Coker, he had to be an alpha WR1, and he delivered. The Lions kept leaving him in one-on-one man coverage against a depleted secondary, and it was a mistake every single time.He is a solidified star for this offense and this is exactly the kind of game people needed to see out of him to be reminded of that.

The Panthers were already coming into this game without multiple starters and have been ravaged by injuries all season long going back to training camp. Unfortunately, two more starters have to be added to the watch list on Monday.Rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling, who was cleared from a concussion over the weekend and able to start, left in the third quarter with a right knee injury after Aidan Hutchinson landed on the back of his leg. He was not able to return to the game and was seen on the sideline with a brace. It could be a significant injury, and it would be a major loss if he has to miss extended time. Tests on Monday should provide more clarity.Pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, the team’s highly paid free agent acquisition, was ruled out as well in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury and a concussion. Phillips has been plagued by injuries throughout his entire football career and hopefully it’s nothing serious. Potentially losing your first-round pick and your highest-paid free agent would be devastating blows for a team already hit hard by injuries. Luckily, the Panthers have the bye week coming up next week to hopefully get some players healthy.

The biggest loser from this game was cornerback Akayleb Evans. Carolina entered without Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, arguably one of the best cornerback duos in the league. It was asking a lot of everyone else to step up against this Lions passing attack.Jared Goff threw for nearly 400 yards, and a good chunk of that came against Evans. He gave up a 57-yarder to Isaac TeSlaa and a 47-yarder to Jameson Williams. He was also called for defensive pass interference and allowed a late touchdown to tight end Sam LaPorta in the red zone. Evans did lead the team with 11 tackles. However, Detroit clearly had a plan to target him in the passing game, and he didn’t rise to the occasion.Will Lee III held up much better after making the start at cornerback, allowing zero receptions on one target in the first half. But the Panthers need to players to step up as starters with Jackson on injured reserve until November at least and Horn is going to be out even longer with the torn quad. With how Evans played, it’s clear general manager Dan Morgan has work to do before the trade deadline to find another starting-caliber cornerback.

Running back Chuba Hubbard and the Panthers’ run game deserves credit, too. Getting the run game going was a point of emphasis this week. Carolina wanted to take pressure off Young, eliminate the self-inflicted issues, and get more push up front. Hubbard led the team with 20 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns, averaging over 6.0 yards per carry. Plenty of those yards came on physical runs where he broke multiple tackles.It’s his first 100-yard game since Week 16 of the 2024 season, when he had four 100-yard games that year. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for him and this run game. The way the they played tonight gave the offense balance and helped Young play free.

Offensive tackle continues to be a lingering problem as well. Rasheed Walker struggled in pass protection again left tackle, especially on an island against Aidan Hutchinson, one of the top pass rushers in football. To his credit, Walker played well in the run game and threw a key lead block on Hubbard’s 11-yard touchdown.After Freeling went down, Stone Forsythe was a liability at right tackle. On the drive where the Panthers could have put the game away, he had an illegal formation that negated a first down, and then had two bad plays against Hutchinson forced Young into bad situations. As a result, Carolina couldn’t milk the clock and forced the team to punt, which gave the Lions a chance to potentially win it late.As things stand, that’s the best the Panthers got until we see how Freeling’s injury looks. Ikem Ekwonu remains on the PUP list and veteran right tackle Taylor Moton is still on the NFI list, perhaps one of those two could be back by Week 6? How the Panthers handle tackle coming out of the bye will be something to watch.

Last but certainly not least, Bank of America Stadium was electric from start to finish Sunday night. The Panthers haven’t hosted a Sunday Night Football game since 2016, back when Cam Newton led a team coming off a Super Bowl appearance. With the blackout uniforms and former Pro Bowl cornerback Josh Norman leading the “Keep Pounding” chant to open the game, the crowd was insane in this game. It made a real difference, too. Detroit had three false starts, two delay of game penalties, and two defensive offsides. This is the only home primetime game on Carolina’s schedule, with two more primetime games coming on the road later this season. The Panthers and their fans made it count.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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