Panthers vs. Falcons: Devin Lloyd's Pick-Six and Bryce Young's 3 TDs Bury Atlanta in Week 2 Rout

Jack Strand waited his whole football life to throw an NFL pass. Devin Lloyd turned it into a punchline in about two seconds. The undrafted rookie came off the bench late in the third quarter, dropped back, and watched Lloyd snag a ball tipped by Jaycee Horn and stroll 16 yards into the end zone.

That pick-six was the exclamation point on a 34-3 Carolina beatdown at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. Bryce Young threw three touchdown passes, Darren Waller caught two of them in his hometown, and a Panthers defense that got torched for 59 points in Week 1 forced five turnovers and never let Atlanta sniff the end zone.

From Boos to Blowout, Fast

The tone arrived on the first snap. Cooper Rush, starting again with Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa inactive, scrambled for 9 yards and had the ball punched loose by rookie safety Zakee Wheatley. Nick Scott recovered, and eight plays later Young flipped a 3-yard touchdown to Chuba Hubbard.

Atlanta's next possession ended with Bobby Okereke intercepting a Rush pass meant for Bijan Robinson, and the boos were rolling before the first quarter was half over. Ryan Fitzgerald added field goals of 37 and 25 yards, Lloyd stuffed Drake London on a fourth-down run to end another drive, and Atlanta's only points of the day came on Nick Folk's 41-yarder late in the second quarter. Even that drive needed a replay review to overturn what would have been a second Okereke pick.

Then Young went full two-minute maestro. Starting at his own 27 with 1:07 left in the half, he hit Waller for 14, found Xavier Legette for 55 down the middle, and capped the six-play, 73-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown to Waller with 20 seconds left. Carolina led 20-3 at the break, and Young's 204 first-half passing yards were the most he has ever thrown in a first half, per the Panthers.

The Panthers opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 73-yard drive, and Waller shook free for a 12-yard score to make it 27-3. After that, it was the Devin Lloyd Show.

Devin Lloyd Played on Rookie Mode

Lloyd's stat line looks like he was playing Madden on the easiest setting: nine tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, three passes defensed and two interceptions, one of them returned for a touchdown. The first pick came on a Rush throw for Kyle Pitts Sr., and Lloyd rumbled 53 yards before London dragged him down at the Atlanta 20. Carolina turned that one over on downs at the 2, which only meant Lloyd had to finish the job himself.

"I knew I was going to score on the second one," Lloyd said, per the team's website. You have to respect the honesty.

The Panthers dug up a nugget for the history nerds: in the sack era, which dates to 1982, no linebacker had ever stacked eight-plus tackles, multiple picks, a touchdown and a sack in one game. Dave Canales went even bigger. "I don't know if I've seen a better performance out of a linebacker in 17 years of coaching in the NFL," Canales said.

Young was the other headliner. He finished 23 of 36 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, good for a 116.3 passer rating. He is now 5-1 against the Falcons, and with three touchdown passes in each of the first two games, he joins Jake Delhomme (2007) as the only Panthers quarterbacks to open a season that way. Tetairoa McMillan topped 100 yards on five catches, and the deep shots kept coming.

Young was effusive about his linebacker. "He’s a leader. He does all the little things that, you know, people don’t see," Young said.

Waller, 34, signed with Carolina on Aug. 13 and already looks fully synced with Young. His two touchdowns made him the first Panthers tight end with two scores in a game since Greg Olsen in 2019, and he did it wearing Olsen's old No. 88.

Strand's Welcome to the NFL Moment

You could argue this one was decided on the opening snap. The real dagger, though, came late in the third quarter. Atlanta's crowd finally got the quarterback change it had been chanting for when Strand replaced Rush, and the building had something to cheer about for the first time all day. Three snaps later, Lloyd turned Strand's first NFL pass, intended for Jahan Dotson, into a 16-yard pick-six, and it was 34-3 with 2:58 left in the third.

As a publication literally named Undrafted, we feel for Strand. That's a rough first page for any rookie's story, and a harder one when you're down 24 and the guy across from you is playing like an All-Pro.

Kevin Stefanski refused to scapegoat Rush. "Cooper’s giving us everything he’s got, and unfortunately, you know, we turned the ball over there, including on the first play, which should never be a turnover," Stefanski said.

Five Takeaways, Zero Giveaways

• 5 to 0: Turnover margin. Atlanta threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles. Carolina gave it away zero times.
• 3.7: Falcons yards per pass play. Rush and Strand combined for three picks and zero touchdown passes.
• 4: Straight Carolina wins in the rivalry, per the AP.
• 286: Total yards allowed by Carolina, a week after Chicago piled up 552 on the same defense.

Carolina Exhales, Atlanta Has a Quarterback Problem

Carolina desperately needed this after a 59-37 opening loss to the Bears, and Canales said the defense knew what was coming. "We knew they were going to try to run the ball after last week. And the defense came together. We shored up some things," Canales said. Atlanta still ran for 157 yards, but five takeaways cover a lot of sins, and the 1-1 Panthers head to Cleveland next Sunday feeling brand new.

For the Falcons, 0-2 under first-year coach Kevin Stefanski has a very specific shape. Rush threw two more interceptions after throwing two in the opening loss at Pittsburgh, Penix and Tagovailoa were inactive again, and Stefanski would not name a starter for Thursday night's trip to Green Bay. When your fans are chanting for an undrafted rookie in Week 2, the quarterback conversation is not going away quietly.

Lloyd Made It Personal

Every season has a game where a defense decides it is sick of hearing about last week. Carolina's came in Atlanta, and its new leader made sure everyone in the building learned his name. Lloyd, of course, already sounded like he was on to the next one. "The momentum, I mean, really just coming out of halftime, just stay on it," Lloyd said.

Somewhere, Strand is already watching the film. Undrafted guys always do.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and panthers.com.