Scott Fowler: Panthers won't hang this game in art gallery, but they'll take win over Eagles

Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer on Oct 18, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PHILADELPHIA — This wasn’t Rocky Balboa triumphantly running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. This was more like a team cautiously walking up the steps and keeping its head on the swivel the whole way.

Nevertheless, the Carolina Panthers were able to escape Philadelphia Sunday afternoon with a 25-14 win.

The Panthers D mostly dominated, overwhelming Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee and his depleted cast. Carolina linebacker Bobby Okereke sacked McKee on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and the Panthers kept the pressure up in what was a rockfight of a game.

As ugly as it was at times — Carolina had eight penalties for 105 yards in the first half and ended up setting a franchise record for most penalty yardage — the Panthers improved to 3-2. They remain in first place in the NFC South. Philadelphia (2-4), without both Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, lost its fourth straight.

Carolina’s offense, meanwhile, had all sorts of difficulty with the Eagles defense other than the Bryce Young-Tommy Tremble connection, which worked for two TD passes. Still, Vic Fangio, who was the first defensive coordinator in Carolina history, remains at it 30 years later, now for the Eagles. He flummoxed Young numerous times with exotic blitzes and tight coverage.

The Panthers — normally among the NFL’s most aggressive teams on fourth down — also played this one cautiously for much of the way, trying to make McKee have to go 80-plus yards every possession.

Philadelphia couldn’t do it. Down to their second-string quarterback and their fourth-string running back, the Eagles punted the first five times they had the ball.

Carolina was also far from perfect. Panthers coach Dave Canales and his game management staff missed a chance to challenge a 9-yard completion that helped extend Philadelphia’s first-half scoring drive — it was close, but it had been dropped. And the Panthers also mismanaged a situation at the end of the first half when they could have called a timeout and let Young heave a Hail Mary toward the end zone with no real negative repercussions if the play failed.

Nevertheless, there was a lot more good than bad for Carolina. The Panthers clinched the game with a standout 92-yard TD drive that spanned parts of the third and fourth quarters, included two successful fourth-down conversions and ended with Chuba Hubbard scoring from one yard out. Although the two-point conversion attempt failed, that still made it 19-7 in Carolina’s favor and sent numerous Eagles fans headed to the exits with 13:34 still left in the fourth quarter.

Those fans turned out to have left too early, as Philadelphia answered that drive with a TD march of its own to make it 19-14 with 10:42 still to go.

After that, though, the Panthers got a partially blocked punt and Young’s second TD connection to Tremble, and that did the job.

____