Bryce Young earns game ball for first career win & game-clinching drive
After a 15-13 victory at home, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich gave Bryce Young a prize that was weeks in the waiting — a game ball. Reich said Young earned the ball for collecting his first career win. Also receiving game balls was kicker Eddy Pineiro and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. All were deserving, but none […]
After a 15-13 victory at home, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich gave Bryce Young a prize that was weeks in the waiting — a game ball.
Reich said Young earned the ball for collecting his first career win. Also receiving game balls was kicker Eddy Pineiro and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. All were deserving, but none more than Young.
The No. 1 overall pick managed to outplay his friend C.J. Stroud in a come-from-behind win that included a game-clinching drive by Young as Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, watched on the sideline.
After the game, Young described the moment succinctly.
"Down 1," Young said. "Go out and try to take the game. What else would you hope for?”
Young, with the game hanging in the balance, put together an 86-yard drive, where he made clutch throws every time the Panthers needed it.
No throw was more important than Young’s 3-yard throw to Adam Thielen on fourth-and-2 to extend the drive.
"[He was] making the plays when we needed it," Reich said after the game.
Young finished the game with 235 yards and a touchdown. He was 22-for-31 and finished with a career-high passer rating of 103.6.
The Panthers can now shed the winless claim. The saying goes — the first one is always the hardest. Well, Young has one win. And it was in a game over his friend. If Carolina can build off his performance Sunday, there may be a few more wins on the way before the season is over.
Rapid reaction: Panthers claim first win of the season over Houston Texans
In the quarterback bowl, many things looked familiar for the newly shaken-up Carolina Panthers. But the results clearly differed.
