The Carolina Panthers traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon to face the Colts in Week 17 of the regular season. Both teams entered the game with a losing record and are out of playoff contention, but the Colts came in with a chance to end the season with a .500 record if they won the last two, including this last home game, and that’s just what they did. The Colts solidly handled the Panthers and beat them, 38-6.
The Panthers started the game with possession of the ball and rookie quarterback Will Grier threw two of three incomplete passes in the opening drive, so his team went three-and-out to open the game … and in their second drive, too.
Indianapolis started their opening drive of the game with a 40-yard return on the punt at the Carolina 36-yard line, and eight plays later, Jacoby Brissett rushed the ball for the one-yard touchdown and put the Colts on the board first.
In the next drive, after Michael Palardy punted the ball to Indianapolis for the second time, Nyheim Myers caught the punt and took it 84 yards for a punt return touchdown, giving the Colts a 14-0 lead with half of the first quarter left to play.
The Panthers’ defense held the Colts from putting any points on the board in their next possession and, immediately following the Panthers taking possession, the first quarter ended with Indianapolis on top, 14-0.
The Panthers kept possession to start the second quarter and put up their only points of the half to finish out the 12-play opening drive when Joey Slye put a 27-yard field goal through the posts to give the Panthers their first points, 14-3.
The Colts answered with a touchdown in their opening drive after Marlon Mack rushed the ball for a two-yard touchdown and extended the lead to 21-3. This would be the last score of the first half as Anthony Walker intercepted a pass from Grier, but Indianapolis didn’t capitalize on the interception in the next drive and kept the lead going into halftime.
The Colts began the second half of the game with possession of the ball. On third down, Carolina’s Vernon Butler was ejected from the game for punching Colts tight end Jack Doyle. He also displayed unsportsmanlike conduct towards a group of spectators while exiting the field. The Colts gained 15 yards on the penalty and closed the drive with a 35-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin, extending the lead by three more to 24-3.
In the Panthers’ opening drive of the second half, Christian McCaffrey caught his 100th pass of the season and became the first running back to do so in two consecutive seasons in league history. Joey Slye finished hit a 50-yard field goal to push the score to 24-6, marking the final time Carolina would add points to the board.
Another day.
Another record.
Congrats @run__cmc! pic.twitter.com/Nv7dArliyz
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 22, 2019
In the Colts’ next possession, they went three-and-out for the first time in the game and it looked like Carolina was going to do the same on their own drive. However, they faked the punt and Palardy connected with DeAndrew White for the first down. Indianapolis challenged the complete pass call, but the ruling on the field was upheld. McCaffrey caught the last ball of the quarter for another first down before the clock expired.
The Colts’ defense stopped the Panthers’ offensive line their first time near the end zone after 15 plays in the opening drive of the last quarter.
Marlon Mack achieved his career first 1,000-yard season during the Colts’ opening drive when he took the ball for 30 yards before being taken down, and the Colts were unable to produce any points on this drive.
Colts vs. Panthers: Marlon Mack tops 1,000 rushing yards in a season https://t.co/ekBZa8a1wk pic.twitter.com/tPU0Kwv9TT
— IndyStar (@indystar) December 22, 2019
Palardy kicked a 53-yard punt in which Hines caught it and took it down the field 71 yards for his second punt return touchdown of the game, the first player in Indianapolis history to do so. The scoreboard read 31-6 with 7:16 to play in the game.
The Panthers turned over the ball in the next drive when Grier threw an interception to Pierre Desir, giving the ball right back to the Colts. Indianapolis capitalized on the turnover when Wilkins rushed it for one yard and extended the lead by another seven points, 38-6. The next Panthers possession also ended with an interception, again by Desir, and this ended the game.
The Panthers lost their seventh game in a row and have one more game to play this season as they look to play spoiler next week against the New Orleans Saints. The Colts will travel to Jacksonville as they look to achieve a .500 season.
Both teams’ attitudes about the game are accurately relayed in their post-game tweets:
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 22, 2019
Putting this one on the holiday card. 🎄 pic.twitter.com/6cnPSV4IBk
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 22, 2019
