Maybe all he needed was some time on the bench.

Purdue quarterback Hudson Card returned Saturday against Northwestern nearly a month after his last start. A concussion and a benching held Card out in the intervening time, but after trading possessions with Ryane Browne, Card again took sole possession of the offense.

The result was 20 points for Purdue (1-7, 0-5 Big Ten), its third-most of the season against FBS competition. But Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) capitalized on a stalled drive to hand Purdue its second overtime loss of the last three games.

Card went 21-of-37 for 267 and a touchdown, but the most impressive throw of the day was made by a receiver in the fourth quarter.

Freshman wideout Shamar Rigby caught a pitch to the right in the red zone with Purdue facing a third-and-5, down by a touchdown. Rigby shuffled with Northwestern defenders closing in on him, then stopped and transferred the football to his gloved right hand, firing a pass to a tightly defended Jaron Tibbs 8 yards away. Confused would-be Wildcat run defenders turned around to see Tibbs go down at the 1-yard line.

The next play, Devin Mockobee worked for the hardest yard of his career. The junior running back pulled Wildcat defenders into the end zone with him to tie the game.

Mockobee got the ball on the first play of overtime, gaining five yards. Two Card incompletions put the onus on Purdue’s defense to make a stand, which it could not as Northwestern scored a walk-off touchdown.

Purdue’s defense bent routinely in the first half, and broke significantly on a 51-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that suggested the Wildcats’ offense could find life Saturday. It remained alive the rest of the first half, gaining a 17-10 halftime lead.

But a different version of Purdue’s defense came out of the locker room in the second half, mixed with a less-explosive Northwestern offense.

Northwestern’s third down fortunes turned from 6-of-7 in the opening half to 3-of-9, with 2.1 yards per rush compared to 5.8.

What stuck out in Purdue’s 26-20 loss Saturday:

Much was made of Purdue’s communicated strategy of playing both Card and Browne at quarterback, with Walters saying the two could even share the field together. That didn’t happen.

Card was given the first crack at running the offense, taking two series, one of which resulted in a field goal. Then it was Browne’s turn for two possessions, but Purdue only managed one first down on them.

Browne played no worse in his most recent and worst game against Oregon than Card has on multiple occasions this year. In fact, Browne had a better passer rating against Oregon than Card did against Oregon State.

But once Card took over for Browne to close the first half, he held the reins tightly. The drive culminated in a throw that graced Jahmal Edrine’s hands in the end zone, inches above a closing defensive back.

Card completed double-digit passes of at least 10 yards through the air, giving Purdue a downfield element it missed with Browne at the helm.

Perhaps the highest-leverage matchup of Saturday’s game was Purdue’s disjointed defense against Northwestern’s lifeless offense. The Wildcats had scored 10 touchdowns all season and ranked as the second-worst team in the nation on third down.

In the first half, they scored two touchdowns and went 6-of-7 on third down to take a 17-10 lead. Northwestern running back Joseph Himon II defined the kind of first half Purdue’s defense would have with a minute left in the first quarter.

Himon churned to the left side of his offensive line, moving past three Purdue linemen tied up by blockers. Once Himon was at the second level, a receiver block allowed him to sprint ahead of the rest of Purdue’s defense for a 51-yard touchdown.

But Purdue’s defense changed its tune in the second half, stepping up on a fourth quarter drive on which Northwestern could have taken a two-possession lead with 10 minutes to play if it became a touchdown.

The Wildcats faced a third-and-14 in the red zone after a delay of game on that drive, and lined up again with the play clock dying. To avoid another penalty, they called their final timeout of the game with more than 10 minutes remaining.

The play’s result, when it finally happened, was a throw too long for the grasping arms of a Wildcat receiver. The result was a 41-yard field goal that gave Northwestern a 20-13 lead.

But in overtime, Purdue’s coverage unit which had played admirably for all 30 minutes of the second half was broken. Himon snuck behind and outside the linebackers and secondary, sprinting for a 22-yard touchdown far less contested than Saturday’s football game.