Scott Fowler: Comeback bid for Panthers ends in chaos, with bizarre interception and strip sack

Scott Fowler, The Charlotte Observer on Nov 8, 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

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers came within a couple of fingertips — the fingertips of tight end Tommy Tremble’s right hand and the fingertips of Bryce Young’s throwing hand — from pulling off an important upset Sunday.

When it was over, though, the Panthers (3-5) had instead lost their third straight game, this time by a score of 26-21 to the Denver Broncos (7-2) at Bank of America Stadium. Denver is now 16-0 in its last 16 one-score games.

“They’re a tough team to beat in these one-possession games because they do things right toward the end,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said.

Carolina did not.

The Panthers had the ball at the Denver 36 with 1:24 to go and a good chance to win. Young had already thrown three TD passes and had his team only down by five points. But this time Denver outside linebacker Nick Bonitto beat left tackle Rasheed Walker and hit Young in the pocket, forcing a strip sack and recovering the ball himself.

“Just a really good rush on Rasheed,” Canales said. “Got the edge.”

From there, the Broncos ran out the clock.

Before that, the Broncos were a major beneficiary of an unfortunate series of events in the third quarter. With Carolina up 14-13 and looking for more with a first-and-goal at the Denver 1, the Panthers called for a pass on first down.

That was a very iffy idea, as was Young’s decision to throw it into tight coverage.

“It felt like we had space,” Canales said. “Felt like we had a great play.”

Tight end Tommy Tremble fell to the ground trying to make a difficult play. The ball looked like it had fallen harmlessly to the ground. But Tremble, in fact, had flicked it a few inches in the air while still trying to make the catch.

Denver safety Devon Key caught the ball a few inches from the artificial turf, although he had no real reaction when doing so. Carolina ran another play, on what the scoreboard showed was second-and-goal from the 1, handing the ball off to Chuba Hubbard for no gain.

But wait: Denver had thrown a challenge flag, spotting the potential end zone interception. The review concluded that Key had indeed caught the ball, and Carolina’s chance at a 21-13 disappeared into the fall air.

Then, in an eventful fourth quarter, Denver marched 80 yards in 14 plays for the go-ahead touchdown with 10:17 to go. Rookie Monroe Freeling allowed a third-down sack to ruin one Carolina possession, and Bo Nix hit Pat Bryant for what proved to be the game-clinching, 26-yard touchdown with 5:41 to go when the Panthers secondary blew an assignment.

Carolina ended up scoring itself, with 3:05 left, to cut the lead to 26-21, but then came the strip sack and the disappointing ending.

Would Carolina have won had it scored on that possession that got overturned into that bizarre interception?

It’s impossible to say, but I believe the Panthers would have. They had all the momentum and were playing well.

With that said, it was an interception. It also probably was also pass interference on Denver, although that wasn’t called. (Tremble said it was an “egregious” example of interference). It also was unclear how Carolina seemingly ran another play before the challenge was generated.

“It’s a first for me in football at any level,” said Young when asked if he had ever run another play and then been told the previous one was being reviewed. “But again, look — we should never be relying on reps or calls or anything like that.”

In any event, the Panthers played better in this game than they have the past two weeks. But there were still lots of apparent flaws. Playing without their top four cornerbacks, the Panthers were called for pass interference five times (Carolina had 100-plus yards in penalties in the first half). Ryan Fitzgerald missed his first field goal of the season. Freeling struggled at right tackle. And the cutesy play call on first-and-goal at the 1 — the one that put the interception in play in the first place — was completely off the mark.

For all that, some things were better. The defensive line also got into the backfield more under interim defensive coordinator Todd Wash and the run defense seemed to be improved. Tight end Darren Waller had eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. And the Panthers outgained the Broncos, 353-312.

____