CHARLOTTE, NC — The boos for Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers began late in the second half of Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers when the second-year quarterback threw a short pass into the flats on third-and-15 that had no chance of a first down.

Young had a historically bad day, throwing for just 84 yards, the fourth-lowest mark in team history for a quarterback with at least 25 passing attempts.

He became the third player in the last 20 seasons to average 4 or fewer yards per dropback in four consecutive starts. In two starts this season, he had three interceptions and no touchdowns.

But when new coach Dave Canales was asked who would start next week at Allegiant Stadium against the Las Vegas Raiders, he didn’t hesitate.

“Bryce is our quarterback,” said the coach hired to turn Young around. “We’re going to continue to work on what we need to do and improve on what we fundamentally need to do from a game system standpoint, all of those things.”

The Panthers are off to an 0-2 start for the second straight season and the fifth time in the last six years, being beaten 72-13 by the Chargers and New Orleans Saints. Young, the top pick in the 2023 draft, is now 2-16 as a starter.

The only game he missed was in Week 3 a year ago, when then-coach Frank Reich benched the rookie who was battling an ankle injury. Andy Dalton threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Young started the rest of the season and Carolina scored 13 or fewer points in 10 of the 14 games, including shutouts in the last two.

Carolina’s 13 points in the last four games dating back to those shutouts are the fewest over a four-game span by a team since the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998 and tied for the fewest over a four-game span by an NFL team since 1980.

However, Canales and the players remain convinced that Young offers them the best chance of winning.

“No doubt, no question,” said wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who was brought in to back up Young but made five catches for 34 yards in two games.

The experienced Adam Thielen agreed.

“I love that kid,” said Thielen, who was limited to two catches for 20 yards on Sunday. “He works his ass off. It’s too early in the season to talk about all that. We’ve got to do a better job of managing him to give him confidence and trust in what we’re doing.”

However, Thielen admitted that he let his emotions get the better of him in the third quarter when he became upset that Young was sacked on a play where he was completely unmarked.

But Thielen said his outburst on the sidelines referred to “the last two weeks” and not to a single game.

“You don’t put all that work in the offseason to perform like we did,” he said. “You have so many expectations, you put all that work in, you’re in year two with a lot of guys coming back together, you want to see progress. And we obviously haven’t gotten there yet.”

The Panthers’ only touchdown in two games came on a running play by Young against New Orleans that was initially ruled a fumble before the game replay showed he was the first to cross the finish line.

Canales attributed Thielen’s emotional outburst to everyone’s frustration.

Young got it.

“We’re all competitors,” he said. “We all want to win. Obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted and that’s frustrating. At the end of the day, we’re here on the sidelines trying to make it right for the future.”

Young also appreciated that Canales said he would face the Raiders.

“I’m super grateful to Coach Canales,” he said. “I have complete confidence in him as a coach and as a playmaker in the system he has built. We need to do a better job of doing his job and helping him.”

“These are obviously tough times, but it is also a great opportunity for us to grow our relationship and the entire team.”

Young also took the boos calmly.

“I respect the passion the city has for the team,” he said. “That’s obviously part of it.”