The Cardinals forced overtime after being down 17 points against the Panthers in the first half on Sunday, but they couldn’t get it done in the extra session.
After forcing a Carolina punt, the Cardinals took over on their own 10-yard-line and converted a fourth down from their 19 to keep their drive alive. They used both of their timeouts by then, however, and had to take a delay of game that set up a third-and-10 to keep the offense on the field. Panthers linebacker Josey Jewell sacked Kyler Murray to force a punt that gave the Panthers the ball on their 34-yard-line, but an ineligible player downfield penalty forced another kick.
The Panthers wound up on the Cardinals’ 49-yard-line and running back Chuba Hubbard put them in field goal range with a 28-yard run. They didn’t have to settle for the kick, though. Hubbard ran 21 yards for a touchdown on the next play and the 36-30 win officially eliminated the Cardinals from playoff contention.
It was fitting that a penalty helped seal the deal for Arizona because they committed 11 of them over the course of Sunday’s game. That helped the Panthers get out to a 20-3 lead in the first half and the Cardinals had to play from behind for the rest of the day. They had a chance to grab a lead while trailing 30-27 in the fourth quarter, but Murray was picked off by safety Demani Richardson with just over three minutes to play.
Murray got some redemption by leading a drive for Chad Ryland’s game-tying field goal after a Panthers punt, but it will be a disappointing result for a Cardinals team that was leading the division with a 6-4 record after 10 weeks. They’ve now lost four of their final five games and have now missed the postseason for three straight years.
The Panthers will also miss the postseason, but they can feel good about the way Bryce Young has responded from his early-season benching. Young threw two touchdowns and ran for another on Sunday to continue the career resurrection that started when Andy Dalton was knocked out by a thumb injury he picked up in a car accident in the middle of the season.
Carolina will have a chance to play spoiler again in the final two weeks as both the Buccaneers and Falcons still hold playoff aspirations. More performances like Sunday’s for Young and Hubbard — 165 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns — will make that a likelier outcome.
