CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After the mess that every Panther in every phase had made of the game against the Buccaneers on Monday night, the defense should have been able to save them. The defense wasn’t the unit missing the reigning league MVP, or nearly as many crucial starters.
And with 1:49 left in a tied game and the other team backed up deep in their own end, they had the Bucs at their mercy.
The Panthers defense failed, though.
After all the mistakes and penalties and Derek Anderson turnovers, the side of the ball that anchored the recent run of playoff trips let the Bucs march downfield to win at the gun, 17-14.