On Sunday, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young got to experience something he hadn't since before last Christmas: kneeling out a victory.
Carolina's 23-22 win over New Orleans in Week 9 marked the first win with Young under center since Week 15, 2023 (Dec. 17). It came as Young authored a game-winning fourth-quarter drive in a contest in which neither team played consistently well.
In a back-and-forth affair, the Panthers had a couple of chances to take a fourth-quarter lead. However, an interception and a few missed short passes held the offense back. The defense kept getting stops, giving Young another chance. This time, he burst through with a big play to rookie Xavier Legette to set up Chuba Hubbard's game-winning gallop to pay dirt.
"Where else would you rather be?" Young said when asked what was going through his mind entering the game-winning drive, via the team's website. "That's all you can ask for, you know, have a chance to go take the lead in a drive. That's what we play it for. That's what we work for. Especially as an offense, that's all we can ask for. Everyone had that mentality.
"We all lean on each other, play for each other, and we're able to get it done, but it was just, you know, it was a great, great team effort."
After being benched following a bad start to the season, Young got a chance to get back in the saddle in Week 8 after Andy Dalton sprained his thumb in a car crash. It hasn't been a smashing return for the former No. 1 overall pick, but his improvement running the offense is markedly better.
"I'm really happy for Bryce, and I told him that before we went out there to win, that winning drive. 'Hey, you've been a winner for a long time. So let's win, let's do it,' " guard Robert Hunt said. "And he said, 'yeah, I've got your back,' and we had his, and he did; I'm really happy for the kid.
"It's hard to win in this league, man. You know what I mean? Games like that, I'd rather be a Panther today than a Saint. When the game is so close, you can feel it when it don't go your way. That's the league, though. So you've got to bring it, the plays that you need to make, you've got to make. But I am really proud of the guys, man; Bryce kept fighting, dropping dimes all over the field, everything. I'm proud of this team today."
Young's rapport with his wideouts is better than it was all his rookie season. For the most part, he's avoided the really bad mistake, and the offense functioned at a reasonable level on Sunday. Young finished 16 of 26 for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception. No, it's not a performance that wipes away all the bad that came early in the season. But it's a baby step for a 2-7 team that needs to find some positive in a season that has already gone sideways.
Coach Dave Canales declined to name Young the starter moving forward, defining the QB's performance as "solid."
"But he came up big in some critical moments, you know," Canales said. "And gave us an opportunity a couple of times. So, again, just proud of the step that he took, just taking all the things we're asking him to do, getting us to the right place at the right time.
"So, a great step."
Young's performance isn't going to win any awards and still sits below what the Panthers assumed they were getting with the No. 1 pick in 2023. However, if Canales sends the quarterback back to the bench after helping lead a comeback win against a division rival, it would close the book on any potential turnaround for Young in Carolina -- if such hope still exists.
