CHARLOTTE, NC — After two straight losses to start his NFL career, Bryce Young missed last year’s trip to Seattle in Week 3 due to an ankle sprain that many viewed as more of a mental strain for the No. 1 pick.
Now, the Carolina Panthers head west again in Week 3 after two straight losses – both significantly worse than last year – and the question is whether Young could benefit from a week off.
Or longer.
With each loss, Young looks less and less like the right quarterback solution. The 5-foot-10 2021 Heisman winner completed a respectable 18 of 26 passes in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. But those passes went for a measly 84 yards, the fourth-lowest passing total in franchise history for a quarterback with at least 25 pass attempts.
Young looks overwhelmed. He jumps to throw over pass rushers and seems afraid to throw the ball long, probably because nothing good has come of it. One of Young’s few attempts to throw long was intercepted by safety Elijah Molden, on a play that looked eerily similar to Young’s first pass of the season in the 47-10 embarrassment in New Orleans.
Fans booed loudly after Young’s interception on Sunday and then when another throw on third down missed the first-down mark. The crowd, which included Charlotte rapper DaBaby and several fans with bags on their heads, booed as Panthers players left the field at halftime with 15 1/2 plays remaining.
They were not the only ones who were frustrated.
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Experienced receiver Adam Thielen lost his composure and started screaming on the sidelines after Young was sacked midway through the third quarter when Thielen had not yet been tackled. He later apologized to Young, though he said his “boiling over” was not directed at Young specifically.
The Panthers’ receiving numbers resembled those of a middle school game.
Running back Chuba Hubbard led the team with four catches…for 12 yards. Diontae Johnson had the team-most with six catches, which resulted in the Molden interception and three pass catches. Johnson’s longest catch was 7 yards. Young’s longest pass was a 12-yard pass to tight end Tommy Tremble on the first play of the second half.
Johnson was asked if he was surprised by the lack of shots into depth.
“We all are,” he said. “But it is what it is. We’re not the ones calling the plays. So our job is to go out there and execute every play they call and get it on film.”
Coach Dave Canales spoke up for Young when asked if he would start next week in Las Vegas.
“Bryce is our quarterback,” he said. “We’re just going to continue to work on reinforcements and improving the things that we need to improve fundamentally from a game perspective. Those are all valuable reps. Those are all valuable plays. We’ll learn a lot from this game and hopefully take another step this week.”
Canales faces a difficult decision when it comes to Young. Benching him after two games in favor of Andy Dalton would be a disgrace to his offense and the scouting skills of general manager Dan Morgan, who was assistant GM when the Panthers traded four draft picks (two first and two second) and wideout DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears to take Young with the first pick.
But Canales risks alienating the locker room and the fan base if he continues to play a quarterback who doesn’t give the Panthers the best chance to win. If fans were already restless on Sunday, the reception will be even more unfriendly in a few weeks when the Panthers are still winless and Young is struggling.
Owner David Tepper will likely make the decision for Canales at this point. Some would advise the Panthers to grit their teeth through a tough season to get the No. 1 pick. But the loss of fans is what prompted Tepper to part ways with Ron Rivera and Matt Rhule.
Fans could be heard chanting curses next to Tepper’s name, calling on the hedge fund billionaire to sell the team.
And the Panthers are in danger of turning every home game into a stadium takeover by the away fans, amid boos and fans with bags over their heads.
Fans at Bank of America Stadium are against the Panthers, especially after their performance on Sunday against the Chargers. (Bob Donnan / USA Today)
The Panthers lost their first two games this year by a combined 60 points, the second-largest margin of consecutive losses in team history. When the Panthers finished the season in 2019 after Rivera was fired, they lost to the Indianapolis Colts 38-6 before losing to the New Orleans Saints 42-10 in the season finale.
The quarterbacks in those games were Kyle Allen and Will Grier, an undrafted free agent and third-round pick – not the No. 1 pick selected just before CJ Stroud. With Young throwing passes at or near the line of scrimmage, Sam Darnold – the starter for the Panthers’ 2022 resurgence under Steve Wilks – led the Minnesota Vikings to a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
With a 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, Darnold surpassed Young’s passing total for the day in one game. Darnold and Baker Mayfield, another former Carolina QB, are both 2-0 to start the season.
Canales cited third down as the cause of the offensive woes. The Panthers converted 1 of 12 third down opportunities and have converted 2 of 22 opportunities this season. It would help if those third down plays included passes to receivers behind the first down marker.
“We just have to make sure we challenge the hitters,” Canales said. “Some things were planned that way and the plays come out the way they come. But overall, we had opportunities on both sides on third down to make plays and it’s all about making plays.”
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Canales commented on parts of the second half as if the Panthers were leading 23-3, not trailing by that score. Late in the third quarter, the Panthers played run-run-pass, then punted on fourth-and-2 from their 25-yard line. To be fair, the running game was the only thing that worked: Hubbard averaged 6.4 yards on 10 carries.
But this is a passing league, and Canales’ vision was a strong rushing attack that makes life easier for Young with play-action and bootlegs. Canales keeps saying it takes time to “become us,” but there’s little evidence this can be a competent offense with Young running it.
“I love Bryce more than anything, man,” said Thielen, who finished with two catches for 20 yards. “He works his ass off. He’s a great player. This is not a Bryce Young problem. This is an offensive team problem. We’re all in this together.”
“No one is responsible for this offense. It’s a collective thing. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish. But we have to find a way to do it quickly.”
This whole thing sounds and looks a lot like last year, and we know how it ended. Something or someone has to give.
(Top photo of Joey Bosa and Bryce Young: David Jensen / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
