PHILADELPHIA — The Carolina Panthers have been painfully close to beating a good team each of the past three weeks, only to see it slip through their fingers.
On Sunday against the beast of the NFC East, the Panthers were this close to upsetting the Philadelphia Eagles that they could touch it — which is what rookie receiver Xavier Legette did before failing to come down with the would-be, go-ahead touchdown pass from Bryce Young in the final minute of a 22-16 loss at Lincoln Financial Field.
Wearing a hoodie and talking in a soft voice, Legette said he initially thought he scored after diving for Young’s 32-yard strike with 44 seconds left.
“S—, I thought I caught that bitch,” Legette said. “I just watched the video (when) they put the replay up. I didn’t know it hit the ground. I’ve gotta make the play.”
It was a tough day for the Panthers’ first-round pick, beginning with an early trip to the medical tent when Legette was crushed by safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson going across the middle on the first series. Legette was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return to the game.
Oh my. We’ll just leave this one here 😳@CGJXXIII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/2oaGvvDFxd
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 8, 2024
The former South Carolina standout pulled down a 31-yard pass from Young to convert a third-and-11 from the Panthers’ 3 on their final drive. But he also had two drops on the same series, including the one that cost the Panthers (3-10) a chance to stun the Eagles (11-2), who came in as 13.5-point favorites before winning their ninth in a row.
After Young moved the Panthers out of their own end zone with the long throw to Legette and a fourth-down completion to Adam Thielen, they faced a second-and-4 from the Eagles’ 32. Panthers coach Dave Canales sent in a play that gave Young an option to go with different reads depending on the Eagles’ coverage. Young saw what he was looking for and laid the ball out for the 6-3, 227-pound Legette.
“That’s a big play we’re counting on. (Legette) would be the first one to tell you he’s gotta make that play,” Canales said. “Bryce steps up, makes a beautiful throw. Had the coverage we wanted. Those are the plays that we’ve just gotta find a way to make to get back in the winning column.”
Canales didn’t have any timeouts left, having used one on an unsuccessful challenge earlier in the half — one play before Chuba Hubbard scored on a 1-yard touchdown run. Canales said he thought officials might have the replay official review the Legette play in New York, but added that the Panthers had seen the ball move in Legette’s arms from the sideline, anyway.
Legette’s view as he watched on the videoboard at the Linc: “As soon as I made contact with the ground, it popped out.”
“I made a couple plays, but I’ve gotta make the ones when it matters,” he added. “That was the one to win the game.”
Xavier Legette: Have to make the plays when they matter. pic.twitter.com/OlgIN6ZcDA
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 8, 2024
A 97-yard, game-winning drive against a Super Bowl contender — at their place — would have been a signature drive for Young, who looks like a completely different quarterback than the one who foundered through lopsided losses against the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers to begin the season.
Against the Eagles, Young kept plays alive with his feet, threw the ball away when receivers weren’t open and didn’t bat an eye when the crowd of nearly 70,000 was at full throat with the Panthers backed up on the final series. Young was 19 of 34 passing for 191 yards, and converted 3 of 5 fourth downs — highlighted by a 3-yard touchdown to Tommy Tremble in the first half and a 13-yarder to Thielen on fourth-and-7 on the last series.
Thielen said it would have been nice to win Sunday for Young, who led game-tying or go-ahead drives the past two weeks against the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers only to see both teams come back and win on walk-off field goals.
“That would have been a huge step in the right direction to finish that one off, especially some of (Young’s) plays to set us up there, to give us a chance,” Thielen said. “It definitely would’ve been really nice for a lot of reasons. But at the end of the day we’ve gotta find a way to finish.”
Young said the Panthers will continue to build off performances like Sunday’s.
“There are no participation trophies, no consolation,” he said. “But it does give us confidence to know that — like coach says all the time — it’s about us. When we’re executing, we’re at our best.”
Though Panthers players won’t want to hear it, Young’s resurgence over the last five games transcends the results of the individual games. Given what this franchise gave up to take Young with the No. 1 pick in 2023, it would have been crippling if they’d felt the need to move on from him after two seasons.
And while Canales remains reluctant to anoint Young as a franchise quarterback, it’s hard to see the Panthers going into 2025 with anyone other than Young as the starter if he continues to play with the confidence and poise he’s exhibited over the past six weeks.
That would free up general manager Dan Morgan to use what could be a top-5 pick on a position other than quarterback. He might have to take another stab at a wide receiver.
With two catches on eight targets Sunday, Legette’s catch percentage dipped to 58.2, which ranks in the bottom fifth in the league, according to Next Gen Stats. Fox Sports has Legette with six drops on the season, which seems a little light.
Thielen, who caught nine of 11 target for 102 yards, said he planned to talk with Legette to tell him he can empathize with him.
“We’ve all been there. Played a long time, had some critical drops in my career — tough plays I didn’t make,” said Thielen, who recalled an overtime fumble during a playoff game at Minnesota State. “He’s a hard worker. He does things the right way. … Just keep working and definitely we’re there for him.”
The fourth-quarter pass from Bryce Young slips through Xavier Legette’s hands. (Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
While Legette has had his share of ups and downs, second-round pick Jonathon Brooks will undergo further testing on his right knee after going down on a non-contact play in the first quarter. It’s the same knee that ended Brooks’ final season at Texas early when he tore his ACL last November, an injury that required surgery and a year-long recovery.
Meanwhile, Legette and the Panthers will try to bounce back next week at home against Dallas after giving the NFC-East leading Eagles a scare. “That’s a great team over there,” cornerback Darius Slay said. “We just came out and just played harder longer.”
That’s of little solace to Panthers guard Robert Hunt, who is tired of the Panthers-are-close narrative.
“I think it’s discrediting to be like, ‘We’re close.’ Because we’ve gotta win those games,” Hunt said. “We’re a good team. It’s not a moral victory. We lost. Playing well and then saying, ‘We’re close.’ At the end of the day, you’re still 3-10.”
Hunt had already visited with Legette by the time the media was allowed in the Panthers’ locker room. Hunt chalked up Legette’s drop to a rookie mistake, and predicted a different outcome in the future.
“He’s gonna be a really good player,” Hunt said. “It’s a part of the game. I’m pretty sure Xavier Legette will make that play the next time.”
(Top photo of Xavier Legette: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
