Carolina Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor was not in the holiday spirit after his team’s heartbreaking Christmas Eve loss.
Despite making inroads on what seemed to be two insurmountable fourth-quarter deficits, the Panthers fell one play short on Sunday. Their 33-30 defeat to the Green Bay Packers was punctuated by an expiring game clock, one that hit all zeros when quarterback Bryce Young’s spike apparently came just nanoseconds short.
An irritated Tabor, who “absolutely” thought his offense had one second left, was asked if he received an explanation from the officials.
“No,” he simply replied.
He was then asked if the lack of an explanation is what upset him.
“I’m disappointed,” he said sternly. “I’m disappointed for those guys in that room. They laid everything out on the line right there. And we played, we ran out of time. We’re gettin’ better. There’s no doubt about that. I think that’s evident of how we’re playin’.
“I don’t like to lose. Nobody likes to lose. When you’re keepin’ score, you don’t like to lose and we lost. So it hurts at this moment. And it hurts because you care. And you care about the guys you’re in battle with and I love ’em to death.”
Tabor’s Panthers fought off imminent death throughout the fourth quarter. A pair of touchdown connections between Young and wide receiver DJ Chark, which occurred within three minutes of one another, erased a 14-point hole and evened the game up with four minutes remaining.
Then, after a 32-yard field goal from kicker Anders Carlson pushed the Packers to a 33-30 lead with just 19 seconds left, they fought back again. But Young’s two quick 22-yard completions, which got Carolina down to the Green Bay 31-yard line, weren’t quick enough.
