CHARLOTTE — Tetairoa McMillan changed his approach coming into Week 6. The rookie receiver was leading all Panthers' receivers through the first five weeks of the season, and had made his way into the Top 15 of the league in total yardage.

But he was missing the elusive touchdown.

It wasn’t something the No. 8 overall pick was asking for. Being able to help the offense get downfield and celebrate when teammates like Xavier Legette or Hunter Renfrow scored a touchdown was more than enough. Still, it was a statistic—or non-statistic—hanging around the building and one McMillan couldn't help but smile about when asked over the last couple of weeks.

So the receiver took a different mindset this week.

"Oh man, I wasn't talking about scoring that much this week," laughed McMillan following the Panthers' 30-27 win over the Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium, in which he scored not one but two touchdowns.

"So, throughout the week, the past couple of weeks, I've been telling everybody I'm trying to get in that box, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to. But this week I had switched it up and didn't say anything about the touchdown."

And if his teammates tried to bring it up, he shut them down quickly.

"They're talking about you got to score. I'm like, man, stay quiet, man," shared McMillan, waving off any talk.

The Jedi mind trick worked.

McMillan got into the end zone in the second quarter for the Panthers' first touchdown of the day. He curled around DaRon Bland, then Donovan Wilson for the 19-yard score.

"I can't give you the play," smiled McMillan. "Just know that they put me in a good position."

He didn't celebrate immediately after the play, choosing instead to shoot a glance up into the section where his family—most of whom flew in from Hawaii—was sitting, and then going through handshakes with teammates. Because at the time, McMillan later admitted, he was still a little mad at himself for the turnover.

"I was just chill. I just wanted to chill, man, you know, I just, to be honest with you, I was still a little hurt from the turnover I forced earlier," said McMillan.

On the Panthers' second possession of the day, Bryce Young targeted McMillan over the middle. The ball was a tad high, a spot where McMillan's vertical normally would allow him to make a play. Instead, he brushed the ball, deflecting it up and over, for the Wilson interception.

"The catch was a little bit away from him," Canales explained of the interception. "I've seen him make that. He'll be the first one to tell you I can make that play."

While the thought may have lingered in such a way that McMillan was subdued in his first celebration, the turnover didn't affect moving on from one play to the next. It's a mindset Canales preaches day in and day out, and his rookie receiver embodies the approach.

"The way that he just responded, the way he bounced back, this is time on task, this is conversations between him and Bryce, all throughout this season of just fine-tuning the different routes and the way, the landmark we're expected to," praised Canales.

"He's a really focused player, and he just goes to the next play. High confidence player who knows he's going to make that play."

Added Young, "I mean, he's been huge and you know for me stuff like that it's, it's part of the game, you know, there's little things that happen and from both of us, you know, there's just on to the next play.

"I always believe in him, I always trust in him, he always has the confidence to go out and be himself like he did the rest of the game, so it's that that's adversity, but we all lean on each other for that.

"Obviously, he's been huge for us. He's a great player, continuing to just get better and better and grow, and I'm super grateful that it was able to pay off for him, getting in the end zone. I mean, he deserves it. He's been working hard. He's been doing amazing all season."

After the game, though, McMillan got to have the touchdown celebration he really wanted.

Nearly 20 members of the McMillan family were in attendance on Sunday, having flown to Charlotte from all over the country, including California and Seattle, with a large contingent coming from Hawaii. Two of those who made the trip from the Pacific were McMillan's grandparents, Blanche and Willie McMillan.

Sunday was Willie's 75th birthday. His gift? Tetairoa McMillan's first NFL career touchdown ball.

"It's a blessing just to have my grandparents alive still and just being able to; they traveled probably 10 hours to get here to watch me play, so you know that's a blessing," thanked McMillan.

The second touchdown on the day came on a play the Panthers didn't implement until this week. It was a red zone play that McMillan technically wasn't the first read on; for that matter, according to Young, he was the last read. But during the week, even knowing the chances of the ball coming to him were slim, TMac hyped up the play, believing it could work no matter what.

"When we designed it, he's kind of last in progression, and he came in and he was like—we ran and he's like 'I love this play.' He's like, 'This is great, this is a great design.' He's like, 'And if you get back to me, I'm going to go in,'" shared Young.

"And we had talked about it actually yesterday, it was like it's great to see the buy-in of someone who's, you know, last in progression and still loves the play, still can't wait for it to get called. And him really taking ownership, and he was like, 'Man, if you get back to me, it's going.' And it ended up, he called his shot."

It was the one time this week McMillan (presumably) let himself imagine a touchdown this week. But it paid off on a day that—in hindsight—was the perfect week for Tetairoa McMillan to bring in his first—and second—touchdown.

"God never makes a mistake, so I was fortunate enough to score today," McMillan said. "And it just so happened to be on my grandpa's birthday. So that's obviously a blessing."