CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers were 30 seconds away from a resilient win over a divisional foe but a heartbreaking set of circumstances led to an overtime loss instead.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young hit Adam Thielen for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation. The crowd at Bank of America Stadium was loud and ready to cheer their team to victory.
Then Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield put Tampa Bay in position to force overtime. The Buccaneers started with the ball in overtime but the Panthers shut down a promising Tampa Bay drive before Chase McLaughlin missed a field goal.
The Panthers started just short of midfield and only needed a field goal to score the win. Not only would a win keep the Panthers division title hopes alive, an absolute miracle considering the team started 1-7, but it would add another addition to Young's promising rebound in his sophomore season.
Young once again hit Thielen on the drive, this time the pass featured a dramatic one-handed catch to complete a third down. Things were rolling and the Panthers were on the verge of their third win in four games.
But then Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard fumbled the ball on a run play and the Buccaneers recovered. Five plays later, the Buccaneers won the game with a field goal.
The palpable disappointment dropped the Panthers to a 3-9 record, clinching a seventh consecutive losing season -- the third-longest active streak in the league.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Sunday's loss, and Hubbard's fumble, come down to the fundamentals.
"Just take care of the ball," Canales said in a postgame news conference. "You got your yardage there, lock it up like we talked about. Just the basics. He'd be the first one to come up here and tell you the same thing."
Hubbard's decisive fumble will be looked at as the key element in Sunday's loss but plenty of factors contributed to the defeat. Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro missed two field goals in the first half, the team scored just one touchdown on four red zone trips, and the Panthers defense allowed 236 yards rushing.
"We gotta control the things that we can control," Canales said. "We gotta make our kicks. We gotta take care of the ball at the end right there."
Hubbard owned up to the mistake and says he needs to do better in those situations.
"I hold myself to a high standard," Hubbard said in the locker room after the game. "We're trying to change things here and [the fumble] is not helping... I gotta be better."
Hubbard finished Sunday's game with 43 yards rushing on 12 attempts. He picked up two crucial first downs on third down plays on the Panthers' go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter.
Young steps up
Another clutch performance from Young put the Panthers in a game-winning position late in the fourth quarter. Young had a season-high 298 yards passing while scoring one in the air and on the ground.
Young's dynamic play has improved each week since he returned to the starting role midseason. The former No. 1 overall pick was evading pressure and making plays with his arm and his legs during Sunday's contest.
"They blitzed a lot and he handled it well and gave us a chance to win for sure on those last couple of drives," Canales said about Young. "The decisiveness is what's really critical at the [quarterback] position and he did a great job of that today."
Young said he is getting more comfortable in the team's system and they all need to execute better to create scoring opportunities.
"At the end of the day, it's a lack of execution from across the board," Young said. "There's no finger-pointing. We just have to execute. We've got to find ways to get seven [points] instead of three. We're gonna continue to work to do that."
Young has now thrown a touchdown in five straight games, a career-high for the Panthers quarterback. He hasn't thrown an interception since Week 9.
Seven straight losing seasons
Sunday's loss guarantees that the Panthers will suffer a losing season for the seventh year in a row. The Panthers are 34-77 in that span and have played few meaningful games in several years.
Carolina's last winning season was in 2017, the year before David Tepper took over as owner. During this streak, the Panthers have had seven head coaches and interim head coaches, 10 starting quarterbacks, three general managers, and unsurprisingly zero playoff appearances.
The Panthers' best seasons during this period were two seven-win years in 2018 and 2022.
Only two teams have similar or worse losing season streaks than the Panthers -- the Denver Broncos (7) and the New York Jets (9). The Broncos are currently 7-5 while the Jets clinched their ninth straight losing season with a loss on Sunday. The Buccaneers set an all-time record with 14 straight losing seasons from 1983 to 1996.
Young appears for the moment to have a bright future with the Panthers. Hopefully his positive play can spark some winning seasons for the Panthers in the coming years.