[GAME_RECAP]
Carolina walked into the Benz and turned it into Bryce’s house. The Panthers outlasted the Falcons 30-27 in overtime behind a laser show from Bryce Young — 31/45 for 448 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT — and a breakout from rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan. The No. 8 pick from Arizona looked every bit the moment, posting 8 catches for 130 yards and 2 TD, including the go-ahead strike with 1:14 left in regulation.
Atlanta came out swinging with chunk plays to Drake London (7 for 119) and a steady dose of Bijan Robinson (23 for 104 and 2 TD) to build a 21-10 halftime cushion. But Carolina’s counterpunch landed right after the break: Young dialed up a 36-yard bomb to Xavier Legette (4 for 83 and a TD), and later kept the pressure on with drive-extending darts to his tight ends. Even when special teams and sacks tried to stall the surge, Young kept the offense on the front foot, stacking up a massive 515 total yards on the day.
The fourth-quarter drama was premium-grade. Zane Gonzalez drilled a 52-yarder to put Atlanta up 24-19, only for Young to rip a 38-yard catch-and-run to Rico Dowdle (5 for 55 receiving) that set up McMillan’s 12-yard score — then the two-point flip to Jalen Coker for 27-24. Veteran Kirk Cousins came on and coolly steered the Falcons to a pair of late field goals, the last from 45 with 0:20 left, to force OT. But free ball in bonus time belonged to the Cats: after a defensive stand, Young uncorked a 54-yard dime to Tommy Tremble, and Ryan Fitzgerald walked it off from 28 to seal it.
Zooming out, the Falcons have been toggling between Michael Penix Jr. and Cousins as Penix manages a recent knee bone bruise — with the team publicly comfortable keeping Cousins as QB2. Today, Penix’s efficient middle frames (13/16, 175 yards) gave way to Cousins’ late-game stewardship, but Carolina’s QB stole the spotlight.
Big Dill of the Game: Bryce Young. Those 448 yards and 3 TDs plus the clutch OT dagger to set up the winner? That’s franchise-quarterback stuff, and today it was a big dill. I’m Dillon “Big Dill” Smith, and this has been Big Dill Sports — where ballin’ is a big dill.
[QUARTER_BREAKDOWN]
| TEAM | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | 7 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 30 |
| ATL | 7 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
[PLAYER_BOXSCORE]
ATL - Passing (2 players)
| Player | Pos | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | FPTS | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirk Cousins | QB | 14 | 6 | 48 | - | - | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Michael Penix Jr. | QB | 16 | 13 | 175 | - | - | 7.9 | 7.9 |
CAR - Passing (1 players)
| Player | Pos | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | FPTS | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Young | QB | 45 | 31 | 448 | 3 | - | 31.8 | 31.8 |
[REALTIME_AI_CHAT]
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