Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales explained his flea-flicker call that resulted in a fumble during the team’s 16-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.
“It was an aggressive call, knew they were gonna play us in single high right there, and we just — Rico slipped on the exchange, and we took a shot right there. I like the call,” Canales told reporters after the game, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I like the opportunity that it presented us right there in the red zone to take advantage of it, and we didn’t get that done.”
With Carolina trailing 16-7 early in the fourth quarter and the ball at Tampa Bay’s 20-yard line, Panthers running back Rico Dowdle slipped and fumbled while attempting to execute a flea-flicker. The Buccaneers ultimately recovered the ball.
It’s worth noting that rainy conditions persisted throughout Saturday’s contest, making the field more slippery than usual.
The turnover was particularly costly, as a touchdown or field goal would have cut the deficit to one score and made a comeback attempt much easier. Carolina was able to find the end zone on its next drive, but couldn’t force Tampa Bay to punt until just 18 seconds remained in the fourth quarter.
The clock eventually ran out on the Panthers’ short final drive, sealing the loss.
A win would have clinched the NFC South title for Carolina, sending the team to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.
Now, the Panthers will await the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. If the Falcons win, they’d create a three-way tie for the No. 1 spot in the division and give Carolina a tiebreaker.
If the Saints win, the Buccaneers would hold the tiebreaker between themselves and the Panthers for the NFC South lead.
