CLEVELAND — The Carolina Panthers struggled all Sunday afternoon and even made the kind of late-game mistake that handed the Cleveland Browns a go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes to go.

And yet, there was still a chance.

After a fourth-and-1 stop by the defense, quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers offense jogged back onto the field with one minute left in the game on their own 17 yard-line. The unit even put up a fight: clawing for an 11-yard gain here, a 19-yard gain there.

But then, on a third-and-10 near midfield with under 30 seconds to go, the game ended. Young, under pressure as he had been all game, was hit as he threw, the ball waffled in the air, and the pass was intercepted by Ronnie Hickman. The Browns then kneeled out the remaining nine seconds of the game victorious — Browns 21, Panthers 18.

The Panthers were dominated in the first half and then surged in the second before falling short in the end. Considering everything, the fact that they were on the field with a chance at the end is a testament to the strangeness of the afternoon in Huntington Bank Field.

Carolina out-threw the Browns, 262 to 127, in passing yards but were outgained on the ground and were outplayed on third- and fourth-down.

The play that will linger on in the team’s consciousness arrived in the fourth quarter, in the Browns’ final scoring drive of the game.

With 2:36 left in the game, trailing 18-13, Browns QB Deshaun Watson rolled right and fired a pass to KC Concepcion in the end zone. The pass was broken up by Will Lee and intercepted by Akayleb Evans ... but a roughing the passer penalty undid the play and ultimately paved the way for the ensuing Browns score. That score? A short touchdown connection between Watson and tight end Harold Fannin; a successful two-point conversion put the score at 21-18, which was the final.

Here are three other takeaways from Sunday’s’ contest:

Young plays through pain

The Panthers’ fourth-year quarterback had several injury scares on Sunday, and that might have had a lot to do with his Week 3 struggles.

On a fourth-and-3 conversion attempt, Young was flushed from the pocket but couldn’t elude Browns pass rusher Mason Graham, who collected him for a sack. It looked like offensive tackle Rasheed Walker stepped on Young’s ankle on the play; the quarterback limped to the sideline.

He played through that pain for the rest of the first half. But that wasn’t the end of the scares. Young walked to the blue medical tent after the team’s first drive of the second half; he was deemed fine.

Though he muscled through the game, the injury seemed to impact his mobility and accuracy. It didn’t help that the Browns seemed to get pressure every passing play and that the Panthers’ rushing offense was paltry. Young completed 24 of 42 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown.

Young was coming into Week 3 tied for first place in the league in touchdown passes (six) and second in the league in passing yards (648).

Young not only one battling pain Sunday

The Panthers came into Week 3 with a lot of wear-and-tear injuries.

Wide receiver Xavier Legette was inactive with a knee injury. Star linebacker and reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week Devin Lloyd was ruled out on Friday with a calf injury. Nick Scott was out, too. Backup linebacker Claudin Cherelus (shoulder) was placed on the injured reserve before the Panthers could even get to game day.

And during the game Sunday? More carnage.

The Panthers’ injury list:

— Cornerback Mike Jackson. The veteran, who led the league in passes defended a year ago, suffered a groin injury while in coverage. He exited the game in the first quarter and didn’t return.

— Wide receiver Jalen Coker. The third-year receiver was questionable coming into Sunday with an ankle injury. But during the third quarter, he left with a quad injury and didn’t return. That’s not a good sign for a wide receiver room that’s already down a starter in Legette.

— Guard Damien Lewis. The decorated interior offensive lineman went down in the first half and missed multiple series thereafter with an elbow ailment. He started the second half, however, and played down the stretch. Lewis appeared to reaggravate his injury on the team’s two-point conversion attempt.

— Defensive lineman Bobby Brown. Brown white-knuckled through pain again, much like he did Week 1. He was tended to trainers only once, clutching his back, an ailment he’s been dealing with all season.

— Tight end Mitchell Evans. The second-year tight end also visited the blue medical tent on the sideline Sunday after a 19-yard catch-and-run in which he got collided hard with a Browns defensive back. He was evaluated for a concussion and cleared protocol.

— Cornerback Jaycee Horn. On the Browns’ final possession — the one that yielded the Harold Fannin go-ahead touchdown reception — Horn went down and needed to be helped off the field by trainers. It appeared to be a lower-body injury.

Special teams, Fitzgerald keeps team in it

The Panthers witnessed a great showing on special teams — and it kept the team in the game when the other two phases of the game struggled.

The kicking game, for instance, was masterful. Second-year kicker Ryan Fitzgerald recorded a career-high four made field goals on Sunday. He’s the first Carolina kicker to do so since Eddy Pineiro did so in a November 2024 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He was also perfect on his only extra-point attempt.

Carolina special teams also manufactured the team’s only takeaway. Maema Njongmeta forced a fumble and Thomas Incoom scooped it up on the kickoff to begin the second half; that set the Panthers up for one of their many field goals.

The Panthers entered Sunday No. 1 in turnover margin (+1.5). The Week 3 contest marked the first time this year the Panthers won the turnover battle but lost the game.

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