Dave Canales discusses Bryce Young, Jonathon Brooks, Panthers’ resilience in loss to Eagles

The Carolina Panthers were again heartbreakingly close to defeating one of the best teams in the NFL on Sunday but ultimately fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 22-16.

Here’s what head coach Dave Canales had to say in his postgame news conference — where he recapped the Xavier Legette game-winning catch that almost was, the Bryce Young legacy drive that should’ve been, and the injury news to Jonathon Brooks that hurts to think about.

Dave Canales’ opening statement post-Eagles

“It’s what we talk about every week. We gotta take care of the ball. We had that critical interception, they turned it into seven points. And that ends up being the flip of the game right there. And against a really good team, on the road at their place, just the margin of error is so tight. Especially in the NFL in general, but when you’re playing an excellent team like the Eagles, we have to find a way to have that consistency all the way throughout. And again, that’s our pursuit, that’s what we’re after, to try to find a way to continue to take care of the ball. And make our plays. And of course, the Eagles had another great day rushing the ball, which kind of led to time of possession, them controlling it in that regard. So it’s something that we’ll just have to continue to look at. And try to shore up.”

Were you informed of the rationale for the lack of a review on Xavier Legette’s last incompletion?

“I was not.”

Surprised they didn’t at least have New York take a look at it?

“I thought that would’ve been the protocol. But the ball moved around a little bit. I think we saw that. The officials saw it. We saw it on the sideline. We just thought it was close.”

Legette needs to catch that, right?

“Absolutely. That’s a big play we’re counting on. And he’ll be the first one to tell you he’s gotta make that play. Bryce steps up, makes a beautiful throw. And the situation, we had the coverage we wanted, all that, and those are the plays that we just gotta find a way to make, for us to get back on the winning column.”

Legette’s injury status? He went into blue medical tent early on in game

“They evaluated him for a concussion. He cleared all the necessary protocols, so they were very cautious with that and felt like he could get back out there, and he did. Got back out there and made a critical catch on a third down to keep us alive there. I would’ve loved to have seen him make that play.”

What do you tell Legette afterward?

“Just we’re counting on him. Just go right to him. Just let him know that you’re a huge part of what we’re doing here, and playing the X position, you get targets, and you get a lot of opportunities over there. So just making the most of those. But full confidence in Xavier to continue to take steps. And these are all things that we take and we learn and we grow. And I truly believe we’ll be in high-stakes games someday, playing against great players and great teams, and we’re going to have to make those plays to become the team we want to become.”

On going for it several times on fourth down:

“Just knowing we’re playing a really good offense. Playing a really good team. Trying to be aggressive in those areas. Where we could potentially be in those fourth-and-manageables to try to make some of those happen. We felt like they were going to be able to run the ball with some success, and we thought that if we could steal a possession or two here or there, to keep us out there, to give us a chance to score points, so that was kind of the thought going in.”

Jonathon Brooks injury update

“They’re still gathering a bunch of information. We do know that there’s something going on, some pain in his knee. We’re going to have to do a bunch more imaging before we can make a declaration on what’s happening there. … It certainly was scary for him, scary for all of us. But again, we’ll collect all the information and we’ll give you more as we figure that out.”

What did you learn from Bryce Young’s performance?

“Making plays, you know, again. Another day of being decisive. There was a nice throwaway in field-goal range early on, where he the concept was covered, and he made a quick decision and was able to get us to where we could get a little bit closer. And just extending plays. There were some great effort plays by Bryce today. Just getting out of rushers, or different things that were happening in the pocket, keeping his eyes down the field and finding throws. So again, the operation and all that stuff was great. I can do a better job of getting in plays a little bit sooner on a couple of those. I had to take a timeout. Those are things where I could just, if I’m between two plays, just go with this order. We know that he loves certain plays, just give it to him quicker, and we can go from there.”

No moral victories, but anything positive to take away from hanging so close?

“It’s our expectation. Our expectation is it’s going to come down to the finish. Which it has. Now for weeks. And we’re not going to back off of that expectation, and we need to find a way to win these games. Find a way to close it out. And so that, for us, it’s always about us. It’s about making our tackles, making our catches. It’s about taking care of the ball. it’s about making our kicks. All the things that we can control. If we can control the controllables, the plays that are supposed to be made, then it’ll give us a lot more success. And that has to be the mentality of the group. ‘OK, yes, guys, we’re going to be in these games. Let’s find a way to finish.’ That’s the urgency that we have as a group.”

Other injuries?

“Looking at Jaycee (Horn’s) groin now. Raheem Blackshear had an injury to his chest. He was taken (to a local hospital) for more information. And he’s heading back with us, he’ll be traveling back with us. But they were looking at him. They have to be very serious when there is some type of chest injury. And so, he’s coming back to us right now, and we’ll get more information once he’s here.”

Balancing clear progress with losses attached

“It’s extremely frustrating. And I think that when it’s so clear, we just have to make the plays that are there for us to make. Then it becomes easy for me to talk about that part of it. And the expectation, like I alluded to earlier, is that we’re going to be in this game, ahead or real close to it. And we need to find a way to finish. And we just need to find a way to play right. To do right longer than the opponent. When the opponents continue to find ways to make their plays, that’s the hardest part. But there are no mysteries. So it’s something clear that I can point to and challenge a group with.”

On that big third-down pass on final drive, does that show how far Bryce Young has come?

“Just keeping his eyes down the field and extending the play. His competitive nature coming alive in that moment. His competitive nature, to keep it alive, make somebody miss, he’s got stuff hanging all down his shirt afterward. It’s the passion this whole group plays with. And Bryce is certainly a part of that. The fight to just say, ‘As long as we got time and downs, we got a chance.’ So that part was great. And to see it show up week in, week out, just shows the grasp of all the things we’re doing.”