Carolina Panthers name PJ Walker starting quarterback for Week 9 vs Cincinnati Bengals
Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilks announced today that quarterback PJ Walker will start yet again for the team in week 9 as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This will be Walker’s fourth straight start of the season, as his number was called on following injuries to both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Both suffered sprained ankles earlier this season, and Darnold still remains on the team’s injured reserve (along with rookie quarterback Matt Corral who suffered a season-ending injury) but Mayfield has since been removed from the team’s injury report.
Walker led the Panthers to a 21-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two weeks ago, and nearly led them to victory again versus the Atlanta Falcons in week 8 following his late-game heroics. Walker threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to receiver DJ Moore that tied the game at 34-34 with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But unfortunately, an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty called on Moore for his celebration resulted in a 48-yard extra point attempt that was missed, and the Panthers went on to loose 37-34 in overtime.
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In his last two starts, Walker has thrown for 494 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception completing 60.3 percent of his passes, as he’ll be under center yet again for the Panthers next Sunday on the road versus the Bengals.
WATCH: D.J. Moore hauls in game-tying Hail Mary against Falcons
Carolina Panthers quarterback P.J. Walker unleashed an absolute prayer with the clock winding down late in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons. He pulled up from his own 35-yard line and uncorked a bomb towards the end zone. The football traveled nearly 70 yards in the air before coming down into the arms of a streaking D.J. Moore in the end zone.
The miraculous 62-yard touchdown catch tied the game at 34-34 with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, Panthers’ kicker Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point, and they ended up losing the game 37-34 in overtime, instead of winning by one in regulation. It was an incredible toss by Walker and a spectacular catch by D.J. Moore. While it didn’t win the game, that play would certainly go down in Panthers’ history, if they had completed the victory but it still could be the play of the year thus far in the National Football League.
Plays like that one are exactly why after they traded Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers said they viewed D.J. Moore as an integral piece of their team moving forward. Sunday’s spectacular performance against the Falcons was easily his best game of the year–he hauled in six catches for 152 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Moore has always been one of the league’s elite receivers, he just hasn’t had the proper triggerman to get him the football for much of the past two years. He still had three straight 1,000-yard plus receiving seasons from 2019-2021, a testament to just how skilled he truly is. If P.J. Walker can keep getting him the football, he’s one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league.
The Panthers will look to rebound next Sunday (Nov 6th) against the Cincinnati Bengals. Kickoff for that one is slated for 1 p.m. EST and the game will be televised on FOX.
On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report