North Charlotte Today

TAMPA, Fla.— The Carolina Panthers faced a significant defeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, losing 48-14. The game was marked by some notable performances and concerning statistics for the Panthers.

Quarterback Bryce Young connected with receiver Adam Thielen twice for touchdowns. Young's first touchdown pass was a 17-yard throw to Thielen, completing a six-play drive that covered 70 yards. Later in the second quarter, Young found Thielen again for a 40-yard touchdown, concluding another 70-yard drive. With these plays, Young achieved a career-high of 12 passing touchdowns this season and maintained his streak of nine consecutive games with at least one passing touchdown.

Young completed 15 out of 28 passes for a total of 203 yards and two touchdowns, resulting in a passer rating of 100.7. He also managed to rush twice for eight yards during the game.

Adam Thielen scored his fourth touchdown of the season early in the game and later added another with his longest catch as a Panther—a 40-yard reception. Thielen finished with five catches totaling 110 yards and two touchdowns, marking his fifth game with over 100 receiving yards while playing for the Panthers.

Defensively, rookie linebacker Jacoby Windmon and rookie tackle Jaden Crumedy made notable contributions by sacking Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield in crucial moments. This effort helped hold Tampa Bay to just a field goal early in the game. Jadeveon Clowney also recorded an important tackle for loss against Mayfield.

Chandler Wooten stood out defensively with a career-high of 14 tackles in his first NFL start. Mike Jackson added two tackles for loss, achieving personal bests in this area as well.

Despite these individual performances, the Panthers' defense struggled overall. They allowed Tampa Bay to gain a total of 551 offensive yards and gave up their highest time of possession to an opponent in team history at over 41 minutes.

The loss pushed Carolina's points allowed this season to record-breaking numbers within franchise history—surpassing previous highs from past seasons—and ranked seventh-most ever recorded in league history.

On special teams, punter Johnny Hekker moved into sole possession of eleventh place on the all-time list with three punts landing inside the opponent's twenty-yard line during Sunday's match-up against Tampa Bay Buccaneers.