Panthers vs 49ers

You like turnovers? Well, we've got the game for you! The first half of this "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers was headlined by both defenses being able to create takeaways. Remarkably, despite losing the turnover battle through two quarters, the Niners entered the locker room with a 10-3 lead. 

That was thanks to a 72-yard touchdown drive to begin the game for San Francisco that chewed just under nine minutes of game clock. That culminated with a Brock Purdy touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings, but mayhem ensued after that. Purdy rattled off three consecutive drives where he threw an interception, particularly struggling on throws deep down the field. Jaycee Horn was on the receiving end of two of those picks, while fellow Panthers corner Mike Jackson recorded the other. Despite all this, Carolina scored just three points as its offense has been sluggish. Bryce Young had just 28 yards passing in the half and threw an end-zone interception on his second possession of the evening.Which team will clean up the turnovers in the second half en route to a valuable win for the NFC playoff picture? As we find out, check out our live blog of Monday's matchup. Below, you can find expert analysis and real-time highlights of all the top plays. 

Where to watch 49ers vs. Panthers live

  • Date: Monday, Nov. 14 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)
  • TV: ESPN/ABC | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) 
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Carolina is back within a score of the 49ers following their best offensive possession of the night. Bryce Young orchestrated an eight-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan. That was the longest play of the night for either offense. After an unsuccessful two-point attempt (following a penalty on San Francisco), it's a 17-9 lead for the Niners. Christian McCaffrey now has eight games with at least 50yards rushing and 50 yards receiving this season, which is one shy of tying the most in a season in NFL history (Marshall Faulk in 1999). McCaffrey is also just the third player all-time with at least 750 yards rushing and 750 yards receiving through 12 games (Roger Craig '85 and Marshall Faulk '98). Some much-needed breathing room for the San Francisco 49ers. Christian McCaffrey took a second-and-3 toss up the left sideline for a 12-yard touchdown, his first score against his former Panthers squad. Potentially a major development for Carolina. The broadcast reports that cornerback Jaycee Horn is being evaluated for a concussion. The report adds that Horn could be seen vomiting on the sideline. Would be a major blow to the secondary with Horn already notching two interceptions tonight. 

Robert Saleh's defense is single-handedly keeping the 49ers in this game. After the first two interceptions from the offense, the San Francisco defense held the Panthers to zero points. Even after Brock Purdy's third interception, the Panthers were held to a field goal. Remarkably, the offense has played this poorly and yet still has a lead, which is a credit to this defense. Things have gone absolutely sideways for the 49ers. Just a couple of plays after McCaffrey's would-be fumble was recovered, Brock Purdy threw his third interception of the night. Jaycee Horn recorded the pick (second of the night). Purdy simply didn't see him crossing over the field on a throw to Pearsall. The Niners better thank their lucky stars because they nearly had their third turnover of the night. McCaffrey took a first-down run up the left sideline and had the ball punched out. Carolina has multiple opportunities to recover, but San Francisco was somehow able to jump on top of it and keep the drive alive. Sloppy start for the 49ers. We talked pregame about how Brock Purdy hasn't fared well on Monday night, and that appears to be rearing its head yet again. The Niners quarterback initially evaded pressure and has he threw the ball towards the end zone in the direction of Ricky Pearsall, Panthers corner Mike Jackson hauled in the interception. Because Purdy was on the run, the ball was a bit short of Pearsall. After the opening touchdown drive for the Niners, the defenses have been the main event as they traded interceptions. Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey is carrying a massive workload. San Francisco has run 18 plays, and the star back has touched the ball 11 times. 

Both defenses are stepping up on Monday night! Just a few plays after Carolina picked off Brock Purdy, the Niners got an interception of their own. Safety Ji'Ayir Brown was able to jump in front of a Bryce Young throw intended for Mitchell Evans and record the turnover in the end zone. Carolina came into this game 21st in the NFL in the red zone efficiency, and that deficiency reared its head on that possession. 

On the first play of San Francisco's second drive of the night, Purdy tried to force a ball deep down the middle of the field to Jennings and was picked off by Jaycee Horn. Carolina immediately has a red zone opportunity. That's Purdy's fifth interception this season. The Panthers went three-and-out on their opening possession. The drive had a wrench thrown into it after tackle Ikem Ekwonu was flagged for holding. For a moment, it looked like Chuba Hubbard's 10-yard run was going to lead to Dave Canales going for it on fourth-and-3, but the head coach opted to punt the ball away. One of the more comical moments from the opening drive of the game came when Panthers defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton needed to sprint off the field. He recognized Carolina had too many men on the field and, in an attempt to avoid a penalty, dove to the sideline. The Niners steadily marched down the field, capping off the 15-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings. The story of the drive was the workload for Christian McCaffrey continuing to be massive. Of those 15 plays, McCaffrey touched the football nine times. 

If you're backing the 49ers tonight, you may not like this trend revolving around Brock Purdy. While the Niners quarterback was stellar in his return to action last week, the "Monday Night Football" stage has not been kind to him. Purdy is 1-3 in his career on Monday night, with four touchdowns and eight interceptions. 

Bryce Young is coming off a career performance during Carolina's Week 11 win over the Falcons. The Panthers quarterback threw for a franchise record 448 yards passing to go along with three passing touchdowns. Tetairoa McMillan was his top target as the rookie first-rounder notched career highs in receptions (8), receiving yards (130) and receiving touchdowns (2). If the Panthers want to pull off this upset, this duo will need to stay hot. 

One of the subplots of Monday's matchup is running back Christian McCaffrey playing his first career game against the Panthers. Of course, Carolina drafted McCaffrey with the eighth overall pick back in 2017 out of Stanford and was with the franchise up until 2022 when he traded to San Francisco midseason. McCaffrey is top five in touchdowns and scrimmage yards in Panthers franchise history. 

As we gear up for this "Monday Night Football" showdown, let's highlight the playoff implications. At the moment, the 7-4 Niners are the No. 7 seed in the NFC and in third place in the NFC West. At SportsLine, they held an 81% chance to make the playoffs coming into Week 12. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 6-5 and currently in second place in the NFC South. If they were to pull off the upset, however, they'd temporarily leapfrog the Buccaneers for first place in the division. The road will be difficult, however, as they have the hardest remaining strength of schedule entering Week 12, per SportsLine. 

Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season will conclude with a matchup that will carry playoff implications for both teams as the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) host the Carolina Panthers (6-5) on Monday Night Football.

The primetime contest marks the end of a long wait for 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, who will face his former team for the first time since being traded to San Francisco during the 2022 campaign. The dual-threat dynamo is sure to have extra fire in his eyes against a familiar foe and one of the NFL's worst run defenses.

Despite the questionable D, however, Carolina has shown tremendous fight in 2025 led by quarterback Bryce Young. And, while most of the attention will be on McCaffrey, Young and lead back Rico Dowdle will likely have a say in how things shake out facing 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's banged-up but formidable unit.Monday Night Football just got interesting.Both teams have found their stride on offense, with Carolina logging its first touchdown to build some much-needed momentum. Young found wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan for a 29-yard TD pass to cap an 8-play, 68-yard series near the end of the third quarter. A roughing penalty on the 49ers allowed the Panthers to go for the two-point conversion, but the attempt came up empty.McCaffrey capped a methodical 13-play, 80-yard drive with a 12-yard TD run to give the 49ers a double-digit lead. The rushing score is his seventh of the season, and boosted his numbers on the night to 69 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Posted on 2025/11/25 08:43 AM