Panthers end season with another shutout loss, finish 2-15
Posted January 4, 2024 10:15 a.m. EST
Updated January 15, 2024 9:46 a.m. EST
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 |
| Carolina Panthers | 0 |
| Final | |
Charlotte, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers went out with a whimper Sunday, falling 9-0 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the regular season finale.
Tampa Bay is off to the playoffs, as they clinched the NFC South for the third straight season. Carolina, meanwhile, must try to pick up the pieces after a disastrous 2-15 campaign.
Two plays in particular served as a microcosm of the game, and this Panthers season as a whole.
The first came early in the second quarter, as quarterback Bryce Young scrambled to his left and then found a wide-open DJ Chark for what looked like a surefire touchdown.
However, Antoine Winfield Jr. caught up to Chark and forced a fumble just before the receiver crossed the goal line. The Buccaneers recovered the ball in the end zone, as the Panthers ended up with a turnover rather than a touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, Carolina looked like they had scored again when Raheem Blackshear found a crease and raced 28 yards to the end zone.
Things took a negative turn once again for the Panthers. This time, the play was nullified by an illegal formation penalty.
Bryce Young was sacked and fumbled on the very next snap. Tampa Bay recovered and Carolina never touched the ball again.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," said interim head coach Chris Tabor. "Those plays can't happen... How deflating? Well, obviously we didn't score any points of [them], so extremely deflating."
It was the third sack on Young in the ballgame, bringing his season total to 62. That ties Steve Beurlein (2000) for the most sacks taken in a single season in franchise history. It’s also tied for the 5th most in NFL history.
Bryce Young also finished the game with a season-low 94 passing yards, completing 11 of 18 attempts.
One milestone that the Panthers can be proud of came courtesy of star defensive tackle Derrick Brown. The Pro Bowl alternate finished with a team-high 7 tackles (including a sack), bringing his season total to 103.
Brown is the first defensive lineman in recorded NFL history to reach 100 tackles in a single season.
The individual accolade is a small consolation at the end of one of the worst seasons in Panthers history.
Sunday’s shutout tied the franchise mark for most losses in a single season (15).
It’s the third time in team history that the Panthers will finish with two or fewer wins, only this time, they will not have the number one overall draft pick to look forward to.
Carolina, of course, traded their first round pick to Chicago last April, in order to move up to select Bryce Young.
