NEW ORLEANS — The safe play might have been to kick it.
But Dave Canales hadn't been playing it safe on fourth downs all year, so he saw no reason to start in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Saints.
Leading 17-10 with the ball during another long drive, the Panthers faced fourth-and-1 from the Saints 35.
Having already converted a pair of fourth downs earlier in the game (which they've done more of than any team in the NFL this year), Canales elected to hand it to Chuba Hubbard instead of letting rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kick a well-within-his-range-especially-indoors 53-yard field goal.
That decision stemmed from the earned confidence of having converted so often.
"You know, with inches to go, I felt confident in our guys," Canales said. "I wanted to give Chuba the ball on that play, make that first down and continue that drive right there. So, I made that decision. It didn't work out for us. . . .
"I couldn't pass up on fourth and inches right there. And I trust my guys to get that done and we've been really successful in those situations and the Saints beat us on that play."
Canales being firm in that decision is within the character they've displayed during such decisions this year.
The Panthers are now 23-of-33 on fourth down attempts for the season.
No team in the league has tried more, or converted more. (Andy Reid and the Chiefs are second in both categories, 22-of-29 on the season).
NFL leaders, fourth down conversions and attempts
| Team | Fourth down conversions | Fourth down attempts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carolina | 23 | 33 |
| 2. Kansas City | 22 | 29 |
| 3. Indianapolis | 17 | 24 |
| 4. Jacksonville | 16 | 27 |
That's been consistent throughout the year for the Panthers, and it worked for them Sunday.
Their rally against Miami in Week 5 (which may have been a turning point in the season) was sparked by a fourth-down pass from Bryce Young to Tetairoa McMillan, and on a fourth-and-3 in the second quarter Sunday, they connected on a 21-yard reception.
And earlier on the same drive Hubbard was stopped, Rico Dowdle converted a fourth-and-1.
This is what the Panthers do now, so their confidence didn't waver in that situation.
"Of course, always have confidence in us," Young said. "Coach has confidence in us. Obviously didn't go our way today, but I'm always going to have confidence in this team, in this unit, in this group. So, at the end of the day, it just comes down to execution."
On that play, they didn't, and the Saints came back to tie the game and eventually win it on a last-second field goal.
Check out some of the best shots from the Panthers' Week 15 game against the Saints.
