Panthers vs. Browns live updates: Cade York FG hand Mayfield, Carolina first loss
.jpeg "Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield runs onto the field before his team’s game against the Cleveland Browns at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.")
The Panthers host the Browns at 1 p.m. Sunday in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte — and amid a 2022 offseason defined by change and injury (and mild optimism?), the biggest pregame question: Will Baker Mayfield play well against his old employer?
The Charlotte Observer has seven journalists set on answering this question (and more) at Bank of America Stadium when the Panthers take on the Browns in Week 1. That includes beat writer Ellis Williams and columnist Scott Fowler.
Live updates will be posted in the section below and will be published frequently during the game. Refresh this page for the latest news.
What is the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns score?
Panthers 24 — Browns 26, FINAL
Panthers-Browns live updates
4th quarter
0:08 remaining: A solid drive set up a Cade York 58-yard field goal attempt. And it sailed true! That would’ve been good from 70.
1:13 remaining: Eddy Pineiro nails a 34-yard field goal to deliver the Panthers their first lead of the game and season with 1:13 remaining in the game. The score punctuates a seven-play, 49-yard drive.
1:27 remaining: 21-yard screen pass to Christian McCaffrey. A horse collar tackle adds on 15 more yards. Panthers down two on the 15-yard line.
TWO MINUTE WARNING: A 26-yard reception from DJ Moore has the Panthers at their own 46-yard-line, two points down.
2:21 remaining: The Carolina defense records a stop when it absolutely needed to, forcing a punt and setting up a storybook opportunity for Baker Mayfield and the Panther offense.
6:02 remaining: It only took Carolina 11 seconds to cut into its deficit even further. Baker Mayfield on the first play of the drive bounced to his left and chucked a dart to a wide-open Robbie Anderson, who easily trotted in for a 75-yard touchdown. The Browns are now only up 23-21.
6:13 remaining: Cade York nails a 36-yard field goal, punctuating a 10-play, 57-yard drive that took up 6:38 off the clock. Browns now lead 23-14.
Attendance number: 72,205
12:51 remaining: A gutsy draw rush by Christian McCaffrey on 3rd-and-7 worked out, and the Panthers cut into the Browns’ lead. The drive ended in a seven-yard scramble from Baker Mayfield. The quarterback, letting out some frustration, chucked the ball at the end zone wall pretty much as soon as he crossed the goal line. 20-14, Browns still lead. (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:44 off the clock.)
3rd quarter
4:24 remaining: Ickey Ekwonu knew his first NFL assignment was going to be brutal. That thought has proven true in the second half. The Browns’ Myles Garrett got to Baker Mayfield twice in two plays in the Panthers’ first drive of the second half — blowing by Ekwonu and lowering the boom on one of them, and casting aside TE Tommy Tremble to force a strip sack on the next. (Mayfield fell on the fumble to salvage a punt.)
7:42 remaining: What Jacoby Brissett has lacked in explosiveness he’s made up for in competent game management. The Browns embarked on another time-consuming drive to open the half — thanks to a fourth-down conversion QB sneak and two 10-plus-yard rushes — and it ended in a 34-yard field goal. 20-7, Browns up. That further deepens the deficit that this so-far uninspired Panthers offense will have to overcome. (Drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, 7:18 off the clock.)
HALFTIME: Browns lead the Panthers, 17-7. Cleveland trumps the Panthers in pretty much every stat: first downs (12 to 5), total yards (188 to 95) and time of possession (17:48 to 12:12). The Browns have also proven to be more disciplined — the Panthers have accumulated six penalties for 76 yards; the Browns have accumulated four penalties for 35 yards. More to come in about 15 minutes!
2nd quarter
0:19 remaining: The Browns use running backs Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb — even in the two-minute drill that they embarked on — dutifully on a 52-yard drive that ends in a 26-yard field goal from Cade York. 17-7, Browns up.
1:57 remaining: Some Panthers offensive life! After only accumulating 21 yards in its first 19 plays, Carolina tosses the ball to Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield for a seven-yard gain, then find DJ Moore on a crossing route for a 16-yard gain and then float a pass on a streaking tight end Ian Thomas for a 50-yard gain. The Panthers then hand it off to McCaffrey and punch it in from a few feet out. 14-7, Browns still lead.
4:46 remaining: Kareem Hunt broke free on a rush off the right-tackle and took it 24 yards for six. That punctuated an eight-play, 78-yard drive. Hunt now has three rushes for 32 yards, one catch for one yard and two total touchdowns — talk about a fantasy footballer’s dream.
9:53 remaining: Another Panthers possession, another punt. Johnny Hekker getting a lot of work in. Baker Mayfield’s stat-line so far in his Panthers debut: 6-for-13, 27 yards, an interception, 21.0 rating. He’s led the offense to 21 total net yards on 19 plays. (The Browns, as an offense, haven’t been much better. The team has 68 yards on 22 plays.)
10:49 remaining: A CJ Henderson pass interference penalty in the end zone robbed Carolina of an interception, and it also set up the Browns on the 1-yard-line. Jacoby Brissett then used play-action to free up Kareem Hunt in the flat, who caught the 1-yard touchdown pass. 7-0, Browns now lead the Panthers.
12:26 remaining: A Cleveland punt. Then, at last, some action: Baker Mayfield had receiver Shi Smith over the middle but an errant throw made it possible for Browns safety Grant Delpit to dive for an interception. The Browns will now take over 42 yards from a touchdown — or at least a handful of yards away from setting up within field goal range.
14:52 remaining: The Browns have been dominating the field position battle ... and that’s about the most interesting development from Bank of America Stadium so far this afternoon. (The second-most interesting thing? The Browns’ Demetric Felton Jr. muffed the punt to begin the second quarter, but Cleveland recovered.) Another Browns possession begins.
1st quarter
END OF Q1: The first first down of the season came thanks to a roughing the passer penalty as Baker Mayfield got hit hard after scrambling in the back of the end zone and throwing the ball away. But that’s where the Panthers’ good fortune stopped. Then came another three plays to no avail. Carolina will punt from its own end zone at the beginning of the second quarter.
1:53 remaining: Another promising Browns drive has ended in a punt (and almost a CJ Henderson pick). The Panthers will begin their third drive from their own 5-yard-line.
7:05 remaining: Panthers have yet to record a first down. The biggest play of the day — a 20-something-yard screen pass to Christian McCaffrey — was undone by a holding penalty. The final play from scrimmage ended with Baker Mayfield fumbling the snap from the shotgun and having to fall on it in the backfield.
9:17 remaining: The Panthers defense was on the field for eight plays but only allowed 29 yards, a bulk of which came in the first play — an 11-yard run by Nick Chubb.
13:16 remaining: The Panthers’ first drive of the 2022 season ended in a three-and-out and two Baker Mayfield completions. N.C. State product Jacoby Brissett quarterbacks the first drive for the Browns.
Kickoff! 1:07 p.m. Let’s play some football.
1:05 p.m.: The Browns won the coin toss and elected to defer. We’ll see Baker Mayfield make his Carolina regular-season debut starting at the 22-yard-line. For those interested: The Panthers are in their all-white uniforms with silver helmets, and the Browns are in their patented away brown tops, white pants and orange helmets.
12:58 p.m.: The national anthem featured a flag waving at midfield. It’s the second consecutive year that Bank of America Stadium has seen an NFL Week 1 game on 9/11. Before that, Baker Mayfield was introduced as the Panthers’ starting quarterback, and everyone — even the Browns fans on hand — cheered. Kickoff soon!
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11:30 a.m.: Panthers inactive players: Wide receiver Laviska Shenault is inactive. The team traded for him last week. Linebacker Amare Barno, guard Cade Mays, defensive tackle Marquan McCall, tight end Stephen Sullivan and linebacker Arron Mosby are also inactive.
11:15 a.m.: The weather did alter at least one thing today: the on-field paint scheme. After Charlotte FC edged NYCFC on Saturday, stadium staff did a quick turnaround for today’s Panthers game, but with the damp air and expected rain, they opted for a far less complicated color scheme on the artificial turf: black and white.
10:54 a.m.: Uptown Charlotte is already abuzz for Week 1 of the NFL season — in part because the weather is better than expected. The sun’s out at the moment with only about a 10% chance of showers come kickoff. Read more about the projected forecast below.
Weather forecast for Sunday’s NFL game
The weather forecast has improved substantially for the Carolina Panthers’ 1 p.m. season-opener against the Cleveland Browns Sunday.
The forecast calls for a mostly cloudy day but with only about a 10% chance of precipitation during the 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. time slot when the game will be played.
Temperatures are likely to be in the high 70s or low 80s. So fans coming to the game will have a good chance of not getting wet — unlike the fans at the Charlotte FC Major League Soccer game Saturday. That game, also held at Bank of America Stadium, was a rainy affair, but it was won by Charlotte FC, 1-0. The soccer lines have since been erased from the field.
How to watch Panthers-Browns
If you’re watching the Panthers-Browns game at home rather than going to Bank of America Stadium in person, note that this is one of the rare cases where Carolina will be playing on CBS.
Because Carolina is hosting an AFC team, CBS has broadcast rights for this one. In the Charlotte area, that means the game will be telecast on WBTV-Channel 3.
This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Panthers vs. Browns live updates: Cade York FG hand Mayfield, Carolina first loss."
