It might be a miracle that the Carolina Panthers were only down 35-0 at the break of their Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Regardless, it’s a franchise record exactly where it stands.
Carolina’s 35-point deficit is now the largest halftime differential in team history. The previous mark stood at 32 points, which came in Week 17 of the 2019 season against the New Orleans Saints.
So, how did they get there? Well . . .
They picked up zero first downs. They totaled all of 32 yards on offense. And quarterback PJ Walker completed three of his 10 attempts for nine yards alongside two interceptions.
Oh, and they’ve also turned Bengals running back Joe Mixon into Walter Payton. Mixon, who was averaging a career-low 3.3 yards per carry entering the afternoon, is up to 113 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
He also added a receiving touchdown (his fourth of the outing) right before the end of the second quarter—a 12-yard catch on a strike from quarterback Joe Burrow to put the Panthers in this now historic hole.
