Bryce Young knocked the Arizona Cardinals out of the playoffs on Sunday afternoon.
Young led the Carolina Panthers past the Cardinals late to grab a 36-30 overtime win at Bank of America Stadium. That, along with the Los Angeles Rams’ 19-9 win over the New York Jets, officially eliminated the Cardinals from the postseason race. The Cardinals have now missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, and they’ve been just once in the last nine campaigns.
The Panthers jumped up to a 20-3 lead in the second quarter after Young scored twice in the period. First he broke open for a 23-yard touchdown run of his own, and then he hit Adam Thielen for an 8-yard touchdown grab on their next drive.
Though the Cardinals cut the game to just a field goal before halftime with a pair of touchdowns of their own, Young sealed the deal midway through the fourth quarter. He found David Moore and dropped in the perfect ball in the corner of the end zone for his third touchdown of the day.
That put Carolina up by two possessions yet again, and nearly gave them their fourth win of the season in regulation. Kyler Murray ran in a 20-yard score of his own later in the fourth quarter, however, and then he put the Cardinals in position to drill a 58-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime. Chuba Hubbard finally sealed the deal late in the extra period with a 21-yard touchdown run through two broken tackles, which gave Carolina the six-point win.
It marked their first win since an overtime victory over the New York Giants in Germany in early November.
Young finished 17-of-26 for 158 yards with two touchdowns for the Panthers. Hubbard had 152 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, and Thielen had 43 yards and a touchdown on five catches. The Panthers have already been eliminated from the postseason. They’ve not been to the playoffs since the 2017 campaign.
Murray went 20-of-32 for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He had another 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries, too. James Conner led the team with 117 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and with another 49 yards on four catches. He left the game early with a knee injury.
The Cardinals seemed well on their way to making the playoffs, either by winning the NFC West or earning a wild-card spot, early on this season. The team, however, has now lost four of their last five games — including two to the Seattle Seahawks — to completely fall out of the division race.
Though the Cardinals showed flashes of a team that could hold their own, Murray couldn’t get the job done down the stretch. They’ll have to wait until next season to have a shot at winning what would be their first playoff win in a full decade.
