Dave Canales had never seen anything like it.
Admittedly, many people watching the Carolina Panthers‘ first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were likely in for quite a shock, as well.
Nothing about the first half made much sense.
The Panthers entered the game leading the NFC South Division. The Bucs entered in last place in the division.
Tampa Bay proceeded to open up a 33-6 lead en route to a 43-13 win. But it wasn’t just about the score. It was about a totally unusual sequence of events along the way.
Canales admitted postgame he’d never seen a half like that:
Dave Canales: “It’s a shock. I’ve never been involved in a half of football like that.”
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 25, 2026
Let’s break it down:
Wacky Events in 1st Half
If you look at things drive by drive, you get most of the picture.
The Bucs opened the game with a dominant 14-play, 70-yard drive that took 7:38 and ended with a Bucky Irving touchdown run.
The Panthers got just one first down before punting it back.
Their defense, though, got a stop — but then David Moore, who is supposed to be Carolina’s safe punt returner just to get fair catches, muffed the punt. The Bucs recovered, but at least the Panthers’ defense held them to a field goal.
The Panthers’ next drive featured Young getting sacked on consecutive plays, and he lost a fumble on the second one that the Bucs returned for a touchdown.
Finally Carolina’s offense did something good after that, moving 72 yards in five plays with the big moment a 50-yard touchdown over the top from Young to Darren Waller.
But then Ryan Fitzgerald had his extra point blocked and the Bucs returned it all the way to the other end zone for 2 points of their own.
The Buccaneers then put together another long touchdown drive, this one with a score from Irving from a yard out.
Young then threw an interception to stifle any chance of a response, and the Bucs capped the half with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Tez Johnson with just four seconds until halftime.
It was a half that truly had everything.
NFC South Standings
Amazingly, the Panthers maintain first place in the NFC South Division with the win.
They’re at 3-3, half a game up on the 3-4 Falcons, who upset the previously undefeated 49ers on Sunday.
The Bucs improve to 2-5, and the Saints fell to 2-5 with a loss on Sunday.
It’s a long season, but Carolina still technically controls its own fate in trying to defend its division title from a year ago — it was won at 8-9 last year, and the Panthers would be hoping to improve on that this time around.
But they’ll have to quickly flush a 43-13 loss to do that.
Panthers’ Dave Canales Shocked by Something He’d Never Seen Before