Bryce Young's setback isn't all on him, but he needs to be better — especially amid C.J. Stroud's historic tear
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On first-and-10, Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young dropped back to pass, trying to lead a quick drive down the field to cut Indianapolis' 10-point lead to one score before halftime.
Young briefly scanned the field, but with immediate pressure in his face, he was forced to make a decision. As the Colts’ defensive line pushed through the Panthers’ blockers like papier-mâché, Young was forced to press the fast-forward button on his process in the pocket. He found running back Chuba Hubbard running a checkdown route toward the sideline and fired a pass in his direction — except it was late and behind his intended target. Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II jumped in front of the pass and returned it for a touchdown, his first of two pick 6s of Young on the day.
That was the theme Sunday for Young and the agonizing Panthers’ offense in a 27-13 loss. Three interceptions, 4.4 yards per attempt and one touchdown was what Young produced against a Colts defense that has been one of the worst in the league. This was the first three-interception game of Young’s pro and college career, dating back to his stellar run at the University of Alabama. He didn't get anything going and the Panthers again were unable to consistently put points on the board. It’s a noticeably bad day when a cornerback from the opposing team scores more touchdowns than the offense.
Young was, rightfully, very critical of his performance after the game. His pick 6s were due to errant throws that didn’t need to end up as catastrophically detrimental for the Panthers as they did.
“Bad throws and bad decisions on both,” Young said. “I have to manage risk/reward on both properly. Both could easily have been dirted balls and especially [if] the first one was just a better placed ball. That’s not on anybody but me. People are in position, that’s only on me to be better. That’s Day 1 quarterback stuff. There’s no crazy depth to it, there’s no deeper story, those are bad plays.”
Panthers head coach Frank Reich praised the Colts' pass rush, which made life hell for Young throughout the day. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Young was under pressure on a whopping 47.9% of his dropbacks on Sunday. All three of his interceptions happened when he was under pressure.
“I’ve been a part of this for a lot of years, I’ve seen games like this many times,” Panthers head coach Frank Reich said about Young’s performance. “It’s not all on just the pick 6s, we put him in a hard position a couple of times. Obviously, Bryce, he owns his share of it, but we’re all part of it, so we have to do a better job.”
Young was right about his mistakes and turnovers. There really wasn’t anyone to blame but himself, which is humbling, but also somewhat of straightforward problem to fix. These are learning moments for him that should help as he tries to patch things up, and at least these specific mistakes are ones that rely on only him, and not changes to the structure of the entire offense.
Young noted that there are things that he can do to make sure there’s progress on the field over the second half of Carolina's season.
“Just do a better job of contributing to wins and manage games,” Young said. “Again, there’s been some fatal mistakes in a couple of games. I’ve been responsible for a lot and we can’t have that. That’s a big reason why we are where we are. I have to be better. People around are playing better. I think we did a good job at a lot of things today, but at the end of the day if I put ourselves in position where we can’t win, we’re not going to.”
And the Panthers haven’t won very much at all, now sitting at 1-7. Contrast that with the 4-4 Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud, who threw for a rookie record 470 yards and five touchdowns on Sunday. Stroud is a heavy favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and while Young beat him head-to-head last week, the Texans have to be feeling a lot better about the quarterback they drafted immediately after the Panthers spent a ransom of two first-round draft picks, two seconds and star wide receiver D.J. Moore to move to No. 1 overall and select Young.
Carolina has to be better on offense when the defense performs to the standard it did Sunday. The Panthers don’t have much time to dwell on this loss with a trip to Chicago on Thursday on a short week, but they still have to put together performances to start building momentum for 2024.
“This is the NFL,” Young said. “No one feels sorry for anyone. We have the opportunity where we have to turn the page, and we have to do it quickly. It’s a great opportunity for us to bounce back.”
Stacking some good performances and getting back on the right track is crucial for Young and the Panthers. As Reich noted, Young had started to show progress prior to this game, but Sunday was a setback.
This roster has a lot of room to improve in the offseason, but the Panthers' immediate future rests on the ability of Young to perform at a higher level heading into an offseason where they’ll have the salary-cap space to add pieces around him. That’s all the Panthers really have left to push for this season.
