Sports · NEWS EXPLAINER
McMillan’s 14 catches lift Panthers past Lions, 32–26
Carolina built a 13-point fourth-quarter lead, then relied on a third-and-14 conversion and one last defensive stand.
Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns as the Carolina Panthers beat the Detroit Lions 32–26 in Charlotte on Sunday, October 4. Bryce Young and Chuba Hubbard powered an offense that built a two-score lead, but Carolina still needed a late sideline catch and a final fourth-down stop. Both teams finished the night at 2–2.
McMillan and Hubbard give Young two ways forward
Young’s two touchdown passes both went to McMillan, while Hubbard supplied Carolina’s other two touchdowns on the ground. The passing and receiving touchdown totals describe the same two plays. Together with Hubbard’s 122 rushing yards, McMillan’s production gave the Panthers a substantial contribution from both parts of their offense.
McMillan had nine receptions for 147 yards before halftime. The Panthers said those nine catches set a franchise record for one half. His 192 receiving yards were just one fewer than the 193 he had totaled in the first three games combined.
Two touchdown drives break the halftime tie
After a 16–16 first half, Carolina opened the third quarter with an 11-play drive ending in McMillan’s 10-yard touchdown catch. A missed extra point left the score at 22–16. Detroit answered with Jake Bates’ 26-yard field goal, but Hubbard’s two-yard touchdown run and the extra point moved Carolina ahead 29–19.
Ryan Fitzgerald added a 33-yard field goal with 8:59 remaining to stretch the lead to 32–19. His two missed extra points earlier in the game still mattered: when Detroit eventually scored another touchdown and added its extra point, the gap would be six points, leaving the Lions a chance to take the lead with another touchdown and a successful extra point.
A sideline conversion, then the deciding defensive stop
Detroit’s first drive after the lead reached 13 points ended on downs. A delay-of-game penalty and a false start had turned fourth-and-10 into fourth-and-20. The Lions got another opportunity after a punt and this time finished with Goff’s eight-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta, cutting the score to 32–26 with 3:38 left.
McMillan then kept a Carolina possession alive by making a sideline catch on third-and-14. The Panthers eventually punted, and Detroit took over at its own 13 with 2:06 left and no timeouts, according to Field Level Media. A sack helped create fourth-and-13. Will Lee III and Lathan Ransom stopped the final completion short of the marker, allowing Carolina to kneel out the game.
Detroit’s yardage does not deliver the final touchdown
Goff completed 32 of 52 passes for 412 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. Detroit finished with 452 total yards to Carolina’s 445, but its scoring consisted of two touchdowns and four Bates field goals. Carolina scored four touchdowns. The final defensive stand preserved that difference in how the teams had finished possessions.
The result followed other close October 4 finishes covered in the related reports: New England’s 29–26 win at Buffalo and Dallas’s 34–30 comeback at Houston. Those games required late winning touchdowns. Carolina’s offense instead bought time while protecting an existing lead, and its defense supplied the last stop.
