CHARLOTTE — A week after Bryce Young completed his first fourth-quarter comeback to win a game, one came unraveled in the fourth quarter.
After an awful first half of offensive football, the Panthers showed some flashes of life and got some forgotten contributors back in the mix to start the second.
But it wasn't enough to overcome the mistakes by the rookie quarterback, as Young threw a pair of pick-sixes to Colts nickel back Kenny Moore II as part of a three-interception game in a 27-13 loss to Indianapolis.
The loss dropped the Panthers to 1-7 and ended a moment of feeling good about things after last week's win over the Texans.
Young was 24-of-39 for 173 yards, with a touchdown and three interceptions, for a season-low 48.3 passer rating.
And the second interception return for a touchdown, early in the fourth quarter, quieted a crowd that was beginning to get into it.
Trailing 20-3 at the half, the Panthers put together one of their best drives of the season, getting running back Miles Sanders involved and capping it with a DJ Chark Jr. touchdown. A defensive stop later, Young found tight end Hayden Hurst for his biggest play of the season, a 48-yard strike on third-and-11.
Moments later, Moore was streaking the other way for a 66-yard Colts touchdown, his second of the day.
The Panthers, as presently constructed, have little to no margin of error on offense. So when their quarterback had his third multi-pick day of the season (along with the pair he threw in Atlanta and at Detroit), those chances evaporated in a hurry.
Coupled with a new influx of penalties (10 Sunday, after just three last week), and the attrition that has become so common this season, it was a formula for another loss.
– The injury problems that have plagued the Panthers all year continued, hitting an area where they could ill afford to lose guys.
Most concerning was outside linebacker Brian Burns walking off in the fourth quarter, after apparently aggravating his left elbow injury. He flashed two thumbs up when he came out of the blue injury tent, but it remains a concern.
But head coach Frank Reich said after the game Burns suffered a concussion, which is a complication in a short week heading into Thursday's game against the Bears.
Cornerback CJ Henderson, who has quietly had a solid recent run of play, left the game with a concussion and did not return.
He was replaced in the lineup by Dicaprio Bootle.
New outside linebacker Luiji Vilain, playing in his first game for the team, left early with a knee injury, and linebacker Chandler Wootenwas carted off late in the game.
– The Panthers played about as bad a half of offensive football as possible in the first.
They were held to 62 yards, five first downs, and a single field goal in the first 30 minutes – against a team that was ranked last in the league in scoring defense coming into the game (28.6 per game).
Young was 7-of-14 passing for 35 yards with an interception returned for a touchdown and a 26.5 rating in the first half. He only completed one pass for 3 yards to Adam Thielen, typically his favorite and most productive target.
In fact, the pick-six Young threw to Colts nickel Kenny Moore covered 49 yards, more than he threw to his own guys.
– The Colts got scores on a pair of possessions in the first half on calls Panthers head coach Frank Reich objected to.
Cornerback Troy Hill was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on a sliding quarterback Gardner Minshew, which was familiar to the call Young did not get last week against the Texans.
Then, Xavier Woods was called for a personal foul for a hit on Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. that saw them both get up slowly.
Woods appeared to get Pittman with his shoulder, and Reich was particularly argumentative after that one.
The Colts got a field goal and then a touchdown on those two drives.
View all the action from the Panthers' game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9.