Ever since stepping into the role of interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers, Chris Tabor has stressed the importance of having fun. Well, some fun was certainly, and finally, had this afternoon.
Week 15 brought the Panthers’ just their second triumph of the season, as Tabor’s crew walked off on the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of a 9-7 win. Appropriately enough, the wet and windy conditions made Sunday a dream scenario for the longtime special teams coordinator, who spoke about the resolve of his crew after the game.
“It was fun,” Tabor replied. “We talked about it all week. We talked about it right in here, startin’ on Wednesday of what the day was gonna look like. From everything—the weather, the wind, how we were gonna have to play the game. And at the end, we just kept sayin’, ‘We are gonna win this game.’ And that’s what they did. Any time you have a 17-play drive at the end of the game to get a walk-off field goal, I think that says something about your kids and your guys. So, I couldn’t be more proud of ’em.”
Rookie quarterback Bryce Young orchestrated a sound 17-play, 90-yard drive to get the Panthers on the doorstep of victory for kicker Eddy Piñeiro. And Piñeiro, who was perfect on the day, came through with his third field goal of the contest and his second game-winning boot of the campaign.
Now, moving forward, Tabor is sure to stress of the importance of making plays when they matter—something his guys did in his first win at the helm.
“The thing that I saw today, that you can’t argue with, is that there were plays that needed to be made and they made the plays,” he later added. “So you can say, ‘Hey, did they take a step?’ And based on that game, I’m gonna say they are. So now next week, that’s the standard. And now, can we move it forward and push it forward?”
