Bryce Young’s herculean effort in Week 11 win answered a major question people had about him being the franchise guy in Carolina
The Carolina Panthers quarterback had another career day in Atlanta.
When the Carolina Panthers dropped the ball in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints, many things were called into question about the organization’s direction, particularly with head coach Dave Canales and quarterback Bryce Young.
It led to a week of self-reflection for the team and an emphasis on getting some of the glaring weaknesses improved before taking the field again in Week 11.
The main priority was getting the passing game in sync and capable of winning games if the run-first offense struggled to get the ball rolling. If it couldn’t be corrected, the noise surrounding whether Young can be the franchise guy in Carolina would only get louder.
That smack in the mouth loss against the Saints is exactly what Young needed to wake up and shut down all of that talk with his performance against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Bryce Young proved he can be a big-time player for the Panthers in Week 11
It was a gutsy performance for the team’s starting quarterback in Atlanta. After having a stellar opening drive, Young left the game on a third-down sack on the second offensive drive with an ankle injury, but managed to come back out for the third drive after a quick trip to the locker room.
The big time throws continued connecting for Young and his young pass catchers, a stark difference from how the passing game looked the week before. The biggest example was Young’s 36-yard touchdown to wide receiver Xavier Legette that looked familiar to the play the two failed to hook up on against the Saints.
Plus, rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan finished the game with 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Young finished his day with a career-high 448 passing yards (which set the single-game franchise record) with three passing touchdowns and, most importantly, no turnovers. The Panthers’ passing attack was lethal all game long, with over 15 plays of 10+ yards, while the run game struggled to find any momentum.
This was the exact kind of situation Young and Canales needed to execute on in order to send a message after the outcome of last week’s game.
With the win, Carolina improved to 6-5 on the season and is squarely back in the hunt for a potential wild-card spot with six games left to be played. This is exactly what everyone wanted to finally see out of this offense and, more importantly, out of the young quarterback.
Carolina Panthers News
Panthers QB Bryce Young has brief ankle injury scare in Week 11 and now can continue with his hot start against the Falcons
The Carolina Panthers quarterback went down on the team’s second drive of the game.
