The reputation of Bryce Young keeps growing not as a flashy star QB but as a poised game-manager leading the Panthers offense
Have the Carolina Panthers found the winning formula with Bryce Young at quarterback?
With a 16-13 win in Week 9, the Carolina Panthers improved to 5-4 on the season, the same number of wins the franchise had in 2024 and more than double the amount of wins the franchise had in 2023.
All five wins this season have come with quarterback Bryce Young at the helm and it’s not superstar play from the former #1 overall pick that’s leading the Panthers to victory, and now a road win against a top team in the conference.
The Panthers are winning with a strong run-first offensive approach backed by a much improved defense with a sprinkle of flashy plays by the quarterback position. It’s not something necessarily new but it’s time to start recognizing how this formula is working for Carolina after a win like this.
Bryce Young’s poise and clutch play is starting to be an encouraging sign after Week 9 win
After leading a game-winning drive that ended with a 49-yard field goal, Young has now led nine game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in his career, with 11 career wins. That’s the same amount of career game-winning drives as Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. His poise in big moments in undeniable and showed up again for the third time this season on Sunday.
“As an offense, we always want to be ready,” Young explained. “We always want to be prepared. That’s a really good team on the other side, so our defense, I mean, balled the entire game. But we knew at some point we’re going to have to go win it. We at least just want to be prepared for that, so confidence never wavered as a group, as a unit.”
Was it pretty? No. Young finished the game with just 102 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception while riding a strong run game led by Rico Dowdle’s 130 rushing yards. Defensively, Carolina forced a key turnover and was stout when backed up in the red zone.
Yet, when Young and the Panthers offense got the ball back with over two and a half minutes remaining, no one blinked on the Panthers sideline. Carolina orchestrated a nine play drive to get into field goal range while draining all of the clock to hit the game-winner as time expired.
“Those two-minute opportunities, again, that’s why you play football,” Young added. “Everyone’s in the backyard when you’re a kid, wishing you’re in a historic stadium like this, getting a chance to go win the game. And we get to live out those dreams, so it’s a blessing.”
People will look at the stats from this game and say Young had a bad performance or Young isn’t capable of leading a franchise, but it’s simply the way the Panthers intend to play football. Would they like Young to be more involved and have flashy stats, I’m sure. But, no team is going to apologize for the way they win games and Young made key plays with the football when it mattered.
“I think the best part of it was he functioned so well and he anticipated, he operated quickly,” head coach Dave Canales explained. “This is a group that we really respect defensively speaking with their pass rush and the challenges that we knew they were going to present to us, and Bryce did a magnificent job of getting the ball out in rhythm.
“You get one hitch and that ball better come out. But it was good to see him move around, pick up a couple of first downs with his legs as well. And that’s just a tribute to him being aggressive, knowing when to hold, knowing when I got to go, and being decisive. Really, really helped us there.”
Sunday’s win against the Green Bay Packers is arguably one of the team’s biggest wins since drafting Young first overall. Carolina went on the road, played their style of football, and came out of Lambeau Field with a win against the NFC-leading team. That’s impressive stuff, regardless of how it happened. And proving they can win like that, against a team like that, only adds more confidence.
“We can only take it week-by-week in this league,” Young said. “We’re enjoying it, but after that, we have to come back and turn our focus on the next week. We can only control what we control. When you look too far ahead, it can be harder to focus on what’s in front of us, so, again, it’s great right now. When we come back and watch the tape, it’ll be all about next week.”
Carolina Panthers News
Dave Canales leaned back into the winning formula in Week 9 and Rico Dowdle rewarded his team with an even more encouraging performance
Rico Dowdle had another phenomenal outing as the Carolina Panthers lead back.
