By David Rogers. ATLANTA, Ga. — It was one of those priceless, woulda, coulda, shoulda moments. In a 60-minute NFL game, it seems inherently unfair to blame a loss or credit a win on a single play, but that is probably small consolation to Carolina Panther fans after losing to the Atlanta Falcons, 37-34, in overtime.
After a “miracle” completed pass for 62 yards from Panthers QB P J Walker to D J Moore tied the game at 34-34 with just 12 seconds left on the clock in regulation, all placekicker Eddie Piniero had to do was chip the ball over the uprights for the PAT and Carolina would take over sole possession of the NFC South. But when Moore removed his helmet on the field and jumped into the stands to celebrate the TD, he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 15-yard penalty pushed Piniero’s PAT attempt back to the 38, officially making it a 48 yard kick, plus another seven or eight yards back from the line of scrimmage for the snap to the holder (technically making it a 55 yard attempt).
The kick was long enough, but it curled outside the left upright to leave the game at 34-34 when regulation time ended at the end of the fourth quarter.
“I’ve got to understand that there is still time on the clock,” Moore said to reporters later. “It was a natural reaction, but you’ve still got to know you can’t do that.”
Not to worry, Panther fans were thinking when defensive back C J Henderson intercepted a Marcus Mariota pass and returned it 54 yards. From 32 yards out — slightly closer than a normal extra point attempt — Piniero could again put the game away with a single swing of his leg. And yet, he managed to yank a wobbler just left of the uprights again, giving the last opportunity back to the Falcons.
“I just missed the kick,” said Piniero, later. “I’ve got to make the kick. It hurts. You know, I love this team and I know they’ve got my back and I know it’s not going to define me as a kicker. Everybody misses kicks. Unfortunately mine was today.”
So, given another improbable chance to redeem himself after hurling the earlier INT, Mariota took charge. Of course, he rambled for a 30-yard run around the left side and up the sideline, giving Falcons placekicker Younghoe Koo an opportunity to boot a 41-yard, game-winning field goal.
Mariota was celebrating his birthday on Oct. 30, and gave himself the best of presents.
“There’s not many guys who can make that play,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith said during his press conference after the game.
In spite of the late game gaffes by both sides, it was a game of good numbers. Walker, the unlikely starting quarterback when the 2022 campaign began with a battle between incumbent Sam Darnold and late summer arrival Baker Mayfield, completed 19 of 36 passes for 336 yards and a passing TD (to Moore) vs. 1 interception. On the other side of the ball, Mariota was 20-of-28 passing for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns, but two INTs.
In his second stint as “Mr. Replacement,” D’Onta Foreman may soon be shedding any such suggestion after carrying the ball 26 times for 118 yards and 3 TDs for the Panthers, his second big performance in as many weeks since being asked to fill the shoes of Christian McCaffrey, who was traded to San Francisco. Being a productive understudy is nothing new for Foreman, who filled in admirably last year for Tennessee when star running back Derrick Henry was injured and missed significant time.
Except for doffing his helmet at an inappropriate time, D J Moore put an exclamation point on his best outing in 2022, with 6 catches for 152 yards and a TD.
It was also a big day for second year wide receiver Terrace Marshall, Jr., who caught four passes for 87 yards. Midseason arrival (from Jacksonville) Laviska Shenault, Jr., added four receptions for 26 yards.
On the winning team’s side, much heralded tight end Kyle Pitts enjoyed his best outing since a 5-catch, 87 yard performance in Game 3 vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Against the Panthers, he caught five Mariota passes for 80 yards, including a TD.
Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith had a key decision to make when Moore was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the game-tying TD, to enforce the 15 yard penalty on the point after attempt and make it a longer kick for Piniero, or enforce the 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff to get better field position. Had Piniero made the longer kick, the Panthers would have had a one-point lead with 12 seconds left and that field position could have been important for a potential Koo field goal try to win the game with the clock winding down.
“That situation there. I mean, that was one of those decisions you get paid to make,” said Smith of the decision-making process. “Whether you take the penalty there, move them back, which is a longer extra point, or – because, again, if he makes it, if you don’t take it, it’s a one-point game and do you think your odds are better with 12 seconds and a time out to get a chunk and see if Koo could go win it? You’re weighing those, and then obviously we made the right call because it went our way. I’m sure you guys had a million stories you could have gone with. Good luck tonight. Probably had to delete a lot of different stories there.”
On the other side of Mercedes Benz Stadium’s team facilities, the Panthers’ interim head coach Steve Wilks was matter of fact in assessing the outcome.
“We didn’t find a way to finish. We had too many opportunities to win this football game, and we didn’t find a way to get it done and that falls on me,” said Wilks. “We’ve got to make sure we’re smart enough, something to learn from, celebration penalty, a big play like that we’ve got to keep our poise. It was a great job with DJ [Moore] coming up with the big play, great pass by PJ [Walker], but as a team we just got to make sure we’re smart and ready to take it to the next level, next step. When you look at the comparisons for us rushing the football, I thought we did a great job, 169, they had 167 which was too much. We’ve got to stop the run. We knew that coming into the game. Pretty balanced when you look at third down conversions, they were 6-of-12, we were 5-of-13. We’ve got to find more opportunities to be able to convert and move the chains and keep the drive alive.”
Wilks was quick to point out that one or two missed opportunities don’t make a football game, even if painful at the time. Of Piniero’s two missed kicks, he was quick to say, “It didn’t come down to that. Of course they would’ve given us the opportunity to win, but offense, defense, and special teams, we could’ve had it way before then. With me, I’m encouraging him and trying to build him up. I told him, ‘Hopefully we give you the opportunity to come back and win it for us,’ and unfortunately, we didn’t.”
The Panthers, 2-6 as the NFL approaches the halfway point in its 2022 season, would have been 3-5 with a win and an improbable division leader. Instead, they are in the last place within the division, and with only the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions sporting worse won-loss records. They will try to build on their last two weeks’ momentum on Nov. 6 when the travel to Cincinnati to face last season’s runners-up, the Bengals.
