Sunday’s crucial NFC South showdown between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers came down to Sam Darnold and Tom Brady. If the ground game wasn’t going to do it, as neither team had a rusher over 35 yards, then the quarterbacks had to.
Battling in the fourth quarter with the greatest player of all-time was a tough ask for Darnold, even if he’d been playing the best football of his career. Entering Week 17, he carried an average of 8.6 yards per attempt and a 104.3 passer rating on season—the highest and fifth-highest marks in the NFL since he took over as starter.
