If you told an Atlanta Falcons fan earlier this week that the defense surrendered nearly 500 total yards to the measly Carolina Panthers, they would have guessed that Rico Dowdle continued his hot streak by turning in a similar performance to Jonathan Taylor's career game in Berlin last weekend.
Instead, the league's best pass defense was exposed by former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who struggles against everyone else but consistently seems to have the Dirty Birds' number. And that was only reinforced by the best performance of first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan's young NFL career.
Young connected with McMillan eight times for 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns, absolutely toasting an Atlanta secondary that suffered in the absence of both Mike Hughes and Dee Alford. And to make matters worse, Xavier Legette joined T-Mac in torching a vulnerable secondary in Week 11.
Tetairoa McMillan made a banged-up Falcons' secondary look foolish on Sunday
Allowing an 8-2 Colts team to surpass 500 total yards against you is one thing, but a Panthers team that wasn't even averaging 20 points per game entering Week 11 is straight up pathetic. And to consider that Jeff Ulbrich was receiving legitimate head coaching buzz earlier this year is insanity.
Not only did Young throw for a career-high 448 passing yards, it marked a franchise record. And a large aspect of why he did that was the Arizona standout picking apart a secondary that consisted of A.J. Terrell, Billy Bowman Jr., Natrone Brooks, and undrafted rookie Cobee Bryant in his NFL debut.
And the worst part is, he was always open nobody how the defense adjusted. He caught Kaden Elliss sleeping on a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, and managed to out-run the entire defense on a 39-yard gain to help the Panthers add a field goal on the final drive before halftime.
The No. 8 pick in April's draft was known to be dangerous, but he just let the rest of the NFL know just what's in store. For the first time in his NFL career, Young has a true No. 1 weapon he can bombard with targets, as the 6-5 Panthers remain firmly in contention for a playoff spot in a weak NFC.
Even Terrell, who is one of the best coverage corners in the league, had no answers for the 22-year-old. His 6-foot-5 212-pound frame is coupled with deceptive speed that'll certainly terrorize opposing DB's, and it certainly did yesterday. As bright as his future seems to be, his bid for Offensive Rookie of the Year left a bad taste in the mouths of Falcons' fans everywhere after a 30-27 heartbreaker.