After forcing Denver to punt from deep in their own territory, a 13-yard punt return by Pharoh Cooper would have given the Panthers the ball at the 50-yard line with 2:48 left.

That’s a very manageable starting spot (even with no timeouts), except for the holding penalty on Natrell Jamerson on the return. That backed them up to their own 27, making it that much harder.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater barely had time to think on first down, taking a quick sack for a loss of 6 yards.

He got that and two more yards back on the next play to Cooper, but rushed a play on third down, when his boss would have preferred he waited until the two-minute warning, so they could have used that time to make sure they were in the right play.

Head coach Matt Rhule was