Even against a very tough Denver Broncos defense, the Carolina Panthers' offensive line held up on Sunday . . . until it didn't.
The dam broke at the worst possible time—as the Panthers, down 26-21 with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, were mounting an unlikely comeback. But after getting Carolina down to Denver's 36-yard line on a 20-yard completion to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, quarterback Bryce Young was strip-sacked by outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.
Bonitto beat left tackle Rasheed Walker to get to Young, then ended up recovering his own forced fumble to help clinch the win for the Broncos.
Head coach Dave Canales talked about the play following the painful loss.
"Just a really good rush on Rasheed, got the edge," Canales
stated. "Was hoping that there was an element of Bryce going forward to get an incomplete pass. But a really nice rush. That's a situation where we can help him right there."
Canales was then asked if he's still mulling over changes to the front, which was struggling mightily coming into Week 9.
"Generally speaking, played really well," he replied. "And we were able to do some things in the pass game, the run game. We didn't get it going exactly how we felt like we could. They played us well.
"But we did find some space. We found some yards in there. So, I thought the group really responded well. But again, we gotta be able to finish together, collectively—and you can't just put that on the offensive line."
The Panthers did produce rather well on offense, totaling 353 total yards. Young finished having completed 28 of his 39 throws for 276 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Walker also addressed the strip-sack . . .
Rasheed Walker on what happened when he gave up the strip sack to Bonitto on last snap of game for Carolina: pic.twitter.com/WQNGC3HJjj
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) November 8, 2026
Walker entered the game having allowed the most pressures of any left tackle in the NFL this season.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers LT Rasheed Walker speaks on allowing game-clinching strip-sack in Week 9 loss
