The Carolina Panthers' "Cali-to-Cali Connection" had themselves a week that would make NBA great Allen Iverson proud.
On Sunday night, quarterback Bryce Young and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan led the way in an impressive 32-26 win
over the Detroit Lions. Young hit on 29 of his 41 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns—with 14 of those completions, 192 of those yards and both scores finding the hands of McMillan.But according to head coach Dave Canales, the duo's best performance to date may not have seemed like a possibility in the days leading up to the triumphant performance.
"I gotta be honest—it was not a great week of practice for the two of them," Canales told reporters after the victory. "There were some misses, they had to work through
some stuff and talk through it.
"I've been a part of this before where you don't make a judgment on what's gonna happen on Sunday, as the guys continue to work and find that. And then for it to show up like that tonight, it was beautiful."
Beautiful, indeed.
McMillan's 14 catches and 192 receiving yards are new career-highs for the 2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. That yardage now ties that of Muhsin Muhammad from 1998 as the second-most in regular-season franchise history.
Young, meanwhile, maintained control of his spot atop the league in passing yards. Coming out of Week 4, he's now thrown for 1,268 yards, nine scores and two interceptions.
Canales was later asked to elaborate on the two's less-than-ideal week of practice.
"It was just the me-to-you factor," he replied. "There were just some near-misses in there. Stuff that I saw them kinda working through, talking together, making sure they were on the same page about what was happening.
"There's days like that, and that's all a part of it. I wanted to share that because of how it turned it."
Well, it turned out to be one of the most memorable nights in a long time for the Panthers.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales admits Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan did not have great week of practice before Week 4 win
