Panthers Recap: Dolphins 42 – Panthers 21
After suffering their worst loss of the 2023-24 NFL season (last week in Detroit, against the Lions), the Carolina Panthers were looking for redemption. They would hope to finally earn their first win of the season. Unfortunately, if they wanted to do that, they had to go to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. The Miami Dolphins weren’t in the mood to be the team who gave the Panthers their first win.
Both teams punted on their opening possession, as they went 3 and out. The Panthers would explode on their 2nd drive of the first quarter, as (quarterback) Bryce Young completed a 27-yard pass to (wide receiver) Adam Thielen to get the Panthers in Dolphins territory. After a 4-yard run from (running back) Chuba Hubbard, (running back) Raheem Blackshear ran for no gain. Young completed a 7-yard pass to Thielen for a 1st down, then the rest of the drive was all Hubbard. He ran for 1 yard, then for 19 yards, before scoring a touchdown on a 6-yard run.
After (kicker) Eddy Piñeiro made the extra point, the Dolphins went 3 and out & were forced to punt, again. Young started the next Panthers possession with a 21-yard pass to (tight end) Tommy Tremble, then an 11-yard pass to Thielen to enter Dolphins territory. After a 2-yard run from (wide receiver) Laviska Shenault, Blackshear earned another 1st down with a 9-yard run. Hubbard ran the next 3 plays, with a 4-yard run, a 7-yard run, & another 4-yard run. After Blackshear ran for 3 yards, the Dolphins were penalized for having too many men on the field to set up a 1st & goal at Miami’s 8-yard line.
Young failed to complete a pass to (tight end) Hayden Hurst, but he did complete a touchdown pass to Thielen with just seconds remaining in the first quarter. After Piñeiro made his 2nd extra point of the game, the Dolphins ended the quarter by earning a 1st down for the first time in the game, as (quarterback) Tua Tagovailoa completed a 27-yard pass to (wide receiver) Tyreek Hill.
The Dolphins started the second quarter in Panthers territory, but Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass. On the next play, (running back) Raheem Mostert ran for 7 yards. Tagovailoa threw a 10-yard pass to (wide receiver) Braxton Berrios for a 1st down. After Tagovailoa threw an 11-yard pass to Hill to enter the red zone, (running back) Salvon Ahmed ran for 3 yards. Tagovailoa completed a 14-yard pass to (wide receiver) Jaylen Waddle to set up 1st & goal on Carolina’s 3-yard line.
Ahmed ran for no gain, but Tagovailoa completed a touchdown pass to Mostert, then (kicker) Jason Sanders made the extra point. On the next Panthers possession, Hubbard ran for 4 yards, then Young completed an 8-yard pass to Thielen. Young completed a 10-yard pass to (wide receiver) Jonathan Mingo, then Hubbard ran for 2 yards. After Young threw 2 consecutive incomplete passes, the Panthers had some trickery on 4th & 8. They acted like they were going to punt, but like he has done throughout his career, (punter) Johnny Hekker faked the punt & completed a pass to Shenault.
However, after being reviewed (since it was a turnover on downs), it was confirmed that Shenault only got 7 yards. The Dolphins made them pay, as Mostert ran for 49 yards to set up a 1st & goal on Carolina’s 8-yard line. Mostert ran for 4 yards, then Tagovailoa completed a touchdown pass to Waddle on the next play. Sanders made his 2nd extra point, to tie the game. The Panthers were forced to go 3 and out & punt on their next possession.
It seemed like the Dolphins were going to do the same, after Tagovailoa threw 2 incomplete passes. However, on 3rd down, he completed a 17-yard pass to Waddle. After a 2 -yard run from Ahmed, Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass to set up another 3rd down. Tagovailoa earned another 1st down, with an 8-yard pass to Mostert. Now in Panthers territory, Mostert ran for 2 yards, then Tagoivailoa completed a 2-yard pass to Ahmed to lead into the 2-minute warning. On a 3rd & 6, Tagovailoa completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Hill, who grabbed a phone from a spectator & did a back flip to celebrate the touchdown.
That drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (which was enforced on the kickoff), before Sanders made his 3rd extra point of the game. Now trailing for the first time in the game, the Panthers tried to earn some points before the first half ended. Thanks to Hill’s penalty, Blackshear was able to have a decent runback on the kickoff. Young threw consecutive incomplete passes, then completed two 16-yard passes to Thielen to get in Dolphins territory.
After a 7-young pass to Thielen, Young threw an incomplete pass to set up a 3rd & 3. Young completed a pass to (wide receiver) DJ Chark, but it was only for 1 yard. With time running out, Piñeiro missed a 43-yard field goal. The Dolphins had a 21-14 lead, at halftime.
The second half began just like the first half did, as both teams traded punts on their opening possession. Just as the Panthers did in the first quarter, the Dolphins did in the third quarter, by scoring a touchdown on their 2nd possession. Mostert started the drive with 4 consecutive runs. The 1st run went for 9 yards.
The 2nd was a 4-yard run, which gave them a 1st down. The 3rd went for no gain, but (Panthers defensive lineman) Derrick Brown was offside. The 4th also went for no gain. Tagovailoa would complete 3 consecutive passes. First, he completed a 47-yard pass to Hill to enter Panthers territory. Then, he completed a 9-yard pass to Waddle to get into the red zone. Then, he completed a 9-yard pass to Ahmed to set up a 1st & goal at Carolina’s 8-yard line.
Mostert scored after two 4-yard runs, then Sanders made his 4th extra point of the game. What was once a 14-point Panthers lead had become a 14-point Dolphins lead. The Panthers had a strong start to their next drive. After 2 runs from Hubbard (6 & 2 yards, respectively), Young completed a 24-yard pass to Chark to enter Dolphins territory. After Young completed a 4-yard pass to Tremble, Hubbard ran for 5 yards, then 2 more yards to earn another 1st down. Hubbard & Blackshear each had 4-yard runs, but Miami’s 24-yard line would be as far as the Panthers went.
Young would throw 2 incomplete passes, which would have been the 2nd time the Panthers turned the ball over on downs. The next Dolphins possession started with Ahmed running for 7 yards, then Tagovailoa completing a 24-yard pass to Hill, putting them in Panthers territory. Ahmed ran for 2 yards, then Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass. Tagovailoa completed a 10-yard pass to Berrios, then Mostert ran for 11 yards to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Mostert lost a yard on a run play. Tagovailoa completed a 13-yard pass to Hill to set up 1st & goal at Carolina’s 10-yard line. After Mostert ran for 8 yards, Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass. However, (Panthers cornerback) Jeremy Chinn was called for pass interference, so that gave the Dolphins 1st & goal at the 1-yard line. Mostert failed to run it in & Tagovailoa threw another incomplete pass.
Mostert failed to run it in on 1st down & Tagovailoa couldn’t complete a pass on 2nd down. Mostert finally scored on 3rd down, then Sanders kicked his 5th extra point of the game. After both teams traded punts, the Panthers tried to get a quick score. Hubbard rand for 5 yards, then Young completed a 6-yard pass to Thielen. The Dolphins thought they had an 11-yard sack by (linebacker) Bradley Chubb, but (cornerback) Parry Nickerson was called for holding.
Young completed a 16-yard pass to Hurst, but the drive stalled at their 40-yard line, as Young threw 4 consecutive incomplete passes for their 3rd tunrover on downs. The Dolphins switched quarterbacks, as Mike White took over for Tagovailoa. They had a 4-yard run by (running back) Chris Brooks cancelled out, as he lost those 4 yards on the next run. The Panthers finally had a great defensive play, as (cornerback) Troy Hill intercepted White & ran 61 yards for a touchdown.
After Piñeiro made his 3rd extra point of the game, he tried for an onside kick, but the Panthers were in an illegal formation. It didn’t matter, as (Dolphins linebacker) Duke Riley gained possession of the ball. After being stopped for no gain, Brooks ran for 28 yards to set up 1st & goal on Carolina’s 9-yard line. Brooks ran for 1 yard, then he lost that yard on the next run. Ahmed had a 9-yard touchdown run, then Sanders kicked his 6th extra point of the game.
The Panthers were once again playing for pride, as they tried to end a losing effort on a positive note with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game. Blackshear caught a 4-yard pass, then had a 2-yard run to get to the 2-minute warning. Young would throw 2 incomplete passes for the 4th turnover on downs for the Panthers. White would take 3 knees to run out the clock, giving the Dolhpins a 42-21 win.
For the Panthers, Young completed 23 out of 38 passes for 217 yards & a touchdown. Hubbard ran 19 times for 88 yards & a touchdown. Thielen caught 11 passes for 115 yards & a touchdown. Troy Hill had the “pick 6”. The Panthers are on a bye for week 7, but on week 8, they will be home as they host the Houston Texans (who defeated the New Orleans Saints, 20-13 on Sunday). It’s no secret that the Panthers will need to work on every side of the ball, during their bye week. The question is will the time off produce any results? They hope to have some answers, when the Texans come to Charlotte.