This is what happens when you don’t put teams away — you wind up paying for it.
On the stat sheet from the Carolina Panthers’ game against the Cleveland Browns — everything pointed to a Panthers victory. They held the ball for seven more minutes than the Browns, ran 24 more plays, won the turnover battle 2-0 and held the Browns to 18 yards in the third quarter.
But they didn’t put the Browns away. And the Panthers lost 26-20, their fifth consecutive loss.
The Panthers either held a one-score lead or were tied for most of the game.