Jalen Coker rushes past the entire Cowboys defense for the 83-yard TD

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  • David Newton, ESPN staff writerDecember 15, 2024, 2:43 PM ET

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      David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN covering the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and joined ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.

CHARLOTTE, NC — Bryce Young finally joined former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in a passing category. The top pick in the 2023 draft threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with 31 seconds left in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys.

It was the longest touchdown pass for Carolina since Newton’s 88-yarder to Ted Ginn Jr. on November 27, 2016. It was by far the longest touchdown pass of Young’s career, topping his 25-yarder to Adam Thielen against Tampa Bay earlier at this point. month.

This was also the longest touchdown of any kind for Carolina since Christian McCaffrey had an 84-yard run in Week 5 of 2019 against the Jaguars.

Young’s throw came one play after Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush fumbled the snap. The Cowboys threatened to extend their 10-point lead on third-and-1 from the 14-yard line.

Coker, who missed the past three games with a quad injury, was open for the catch and ran past the entire Cowboys defense untouched. He brought the Panthers to a 10-7 halftime deficit.