On Sunday night, we were all living in Tetairoa McMillan’s world.
Last year’s AP offensive rookie of the year, McMillan put together the best performance of his young career in Week 4, helping the Panthers defeat the Lions 32-26.
McMillan finished the game with 14 catches for 192 yards with two touchdowns — setting single-game career highs in the first two categories.
He caught a 32-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
But beyond that, he was quarterback Bryce Young’s go-to receiver all night, making clutch catch after clutch catch.
One of the most impressive came late in the fourth quarter, when he somehow got two feet down while extending at the sideline to convert third-and-14 with an 18-yard reception.
All this came after McMillan was held to just two receptions for 17 yards in last week’s loss to Cleveland.
Chuba Hubbard aided in Carolina’s dominance of the Detroit defense, tallying 122 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. That works out to 6.1 yards per attempt.
Young ended the night 29-of-41 for 329 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions.
In a game that did not feature a turnover, Lions quarterback Jared Goff was 32-of-52 for 412 yards with a touchdown. But the Panthers’ defense was able to fluster Goff enough to keep the Lions off-balance, particularly in key moments. Down by 13 in the fourth quarter, the Lions had a turnover on downs with 7:04 left in the contest deep in Panthers territory.
Then when the Lions got the ball back with 2:06 left down by six, Goff was unable to move the chains for another turnover on downs to effectively end the game.
On the injury front, Panthers rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling exited with a knee injury and did not return. Panthers edge rusher Jaelan Phillips exited with a hamstring injury. Lions cornerback Rock Ya-Sin did not return with a hamstring injury.
Now at 2-2, the Panthers will have their bye in Week 5 before taking on the Eagles in Week 6.
The 2-2 Lions will again be on the road in Week 4 to face the Cardinals.
