Mom’s dream is Walker’s reality
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — P.J. Walker was a third-string quarterback battling for a roster spot with the Colts 18 months ago when he received a strange call from his mother. She said she had a dream that he was throwing touchdown passes and winning games for the Panthers.
Maybe she has a career as a fortune teller. Walker threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start Sunday, and the Panthers notched their first shutout since 2015 and snapped a five-game losing streak with a 20-0 victory against the Lions.
‘‘It’s crazy because I didn’t envision my first start like this, [but] my mom did,’’ Walker said. ‘‘She said, ‘I had a dream you were playing for the Panthers.’ I was like, ‘That’s weird because I’m in Indianapolis.’ But life has come full circle, and her dream came true.’’
Walker’s did, too.
His career path took a detour through the XFL, where he turned heads by throwing 15 touchdown passes as the Houston Roughnecks won five games in a row before the league folded because of the coronavirus pandemic. He signed with the Panthers after Matt Rhule, his coach at Temple, became their coach.
Rhule made Walker the starter over Will Grier less than two hours before kickoff after Teddy Bridgewater officially was ruled out with a knee injury. Rhule said Bridgewater ‘‘prepared like a monster’’ and wanted to play, but he didn’t feel right playing him, especially given Bridgewater’s history of knee injuries.
Walker did some good and some bad. He connected on a perfect 52-yard strike to D.J. Moore, along with a well-placed 17-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel. But Walker twice forced the ball into the end zone, where he was intercepted.
‘‘Those could have cost us the game,’’ Rhule said.
But not Sunday. Not with the defense playing the way it did.
A week after allowing 46 points to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, the Panthers (4-7) limited Matthew Stafford to 178 yards passing and sacked him five times. The Lions were held to 40 yards rushing and were blanked for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009, Stafford’s rookie season — although he didn’t play in that game.
Stafford played despite a thumb injury that prevented him from taking a snap under center all week in practice. He said after the game that it didn’t bother him.
‘‘It’s not fun to be a part of a game when we don’t score,’’ Stafford said.
Panthers defensive end Brian Burns, who had 2oe sacks and spent most of the day in Stafford’s face, said the shutout was a little retribution for the loss last week.
‘‘Last week, we stunk up the field,’’ Burns said. ‘‘It opened our eyes to the fact that we needed to pay attention to details.’’
Defensive coordinator Phil Snow allowed Burns to stand up and play some outside linebacker, which created one- on- one opportunities that he won.
‘‘They had no idea where I was coming from,’’ Burns said. ‘‘They messed up their protections — a lot.’’
Nothing went right for the Lions (4-6).
Even when Stafford completed an apparent 51-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones, it was called back because of an illegal formation. And normally reliable Matt Prater missed a 51-yard field-goal try in the fourth quarter, keeping the Panthers’ shutout intact.
The loss likely will raise questions about Lions coach Matt Patricia’s job security again.
‘‘I go to work every day to try to earn my job,’’ Patricia said.