FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — There was no stirring comeback this time, nothing for the Panthers to hang their hats on in the aftermath.
Instead, they’re left to consider the near-opposite result of the week before, leaving New England with a 42-13 loss.
The Panthers entered feeling some positivity after last week’s 30-0 win over the Falcons, but they also walked into the game short-handed on defense, but made mistakes to compound that problem.
And Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was happy to capitalize against his hometown team, throwing for 203 yards and two touchdowns and running for one as well — going with the Cam Newton Superman pose he saw growing up in Charlotte to celebrate.
The special teams units, which had been so helpful early, did not have a good day, allowing a return on a punt in the first half and missing a pair of kicks.
And the offense opened the game with an impressive touchdown drive, but then didn’t offer much the rest of the day, as injuries began to stack up there.
They finished the game short-handed in a number of areas because of those injuries, and didn’t have the balm of their Arizona comeback to make the trip home any easier.
Bryce Young was sharp on the first drive of the game, going 4-of-4 passing for 48 yards, spreading the ball to four different receivers before Tommy Tremble opened the game with a 7-yard touchdown.
They failed to sustain that momentum, as the Patriots slowed them at midfield, and then returned the subsequent punt for the play that shifted the momentum of the rest of the game.
Young finished 18-of-30 for 150 yards and that touchdown, before coming out for Andy Dalton to finish the game, which included a touchdown pass to Mitchell Evans.