His receiver and (for now) returner had a different plan the entire time and returned it 36 yards instead.
“No, I was going to take it,” laughed Coker. “I was hearing from the sideline I had time, so I was going to go take it.”
The Panthers talked all week about how special the passing game can be when McMillan and Coker are both clicking. It was evident on a drive in the second quarter when the offense needed to get something moving after punting on the previous drive. After a 13-yard Coker punt return, the Panthers set up at their own 20-yard line.
On third-and-5, Young hit McMillan for 12 yards on a comeback. The next play, with all the time in the world to throw, Young went to McMillan again, this time for a 27-yard chunk.
Now it was time to flip field position, so when Young saw Coker streaking deep on an outside crosser, he sent the ball that way. Coker had to dive for the fingertip catch as he skirted towards the sideline, but he made the catch, as he usually does, for a 25-yard gain that put the Panthers in field goal range. They cashed in on that field position to go up 13-0.