Receiver Philly Brown admitted he had never been a part of a play quite like his first-quarter punt return that started the scoring for the Panthers in their come-from-behind win over the Bears.

But who has?

Brown saw flags fly and knew the Panthers would keep possession regardless of who emerged with it after Bears cornerback Teddy Williams wiped him out. But Brown didn’t expect to have another chance to return it after he was hit, and the ball bounced away.

Remarkably, it rolled out of a scrum and to his feet. 79 yards later, the rookie was in the end zone for the first time since he scored for Ohio State against Michigan State last December.

“I was looking over and everybody was just standing there,” Brown said. “There was no whistle. I wasn’t going to stop until I heard a whistle. My first instinct was to pick it up and just run to the sideline to where the return was initially called.”

Brown’s wild run gave the Panthers their first regular-season punt return touchdown in more than a decade. Their last came Dec. 28, 2003, when Steve Smith took one 53 yards in a 37-24 win over the Giants.

Brown’s first indication that something odd was occurring came from the nearest official.

“I was kind of going off on him, and then he was looking at me like I was stupid,” said Brown. “And I just happened to look down to not get my ankle rolled up on, and the ball was right there.”

Safety Thomas DeCoud was trying to block for Brown when he saw him get taken out by Williams. When DeCoud noticed the loose ball, he jumped into the pile. Moments later he heard the crowd roar and saw Brown sprinting down the sideline.

“It was just one of those freak plays,” DeCoud said. “The past couple weeks those things were going against us.”

But ultimately, Brown’s hustle turned the fortunate bounce into one of the most memorable touchdowns in Panthers’ history.

“We got a good bounce,” linebacker Luke Kuechly said. “Sometimes you’re able to get good bounces and it helps you out.”

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