CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After back-to-back losses to start his NFL career, Bryce Young sat out a Week 3 trip to Seattle last year with a sprained ankle that many thought was more of a mental break for the No. 1 pick.
Well, the Carolina Panthers head west again in Week 3 after back-to-back losses – both much worse than last year’s – and it’s worth asking if Young could benefit from getting a week off.
Or longer.
With each loss, Young looks less and less like the quarterback’s answer. The 6-foot-4, 2021 Heisman winner completed a respectable 18 of 26 passes in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. But those completions totaled a paltry 84 yards, the fourth-lowest passing total in franchise history for a quarterback with at least 25 pass attempts.
Young looks overwhelmed. He jumps to make throws over pass rushers and seems afraid to throw the ball downfield, probably because nothing good happened when he did. One of Young’s few downfield attempts was intercepted by safety Elijah Molden on a play that looked eerily similar to Young’s first pass of the season in the 47-10 embarrassment at New Orleans.
Fans cheered loudly after Young’s interception Sunday, then booed after another third-down throw went just wide of the first-down marker. The crowd that included Charlotte rapper DaBaby and several fans with bags on their heads booed as the Panthers players left the field at halftime — with 15 1/2 games remaining.
They weren’t the only ones frustrated.
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Veteran receiver Adam Thielen lost his cool and started shouting on the sidelines after Young was sacked midway through the third quarter, when Thielen still wasn’t targeted. He later apologized to Young, even though he said his “boiling over” moment was not specifically aimed at Young.
The Panthers’ receiving numbers looked like something out of a high school game.
Running back Chuba Hubbard led the team with four receptions … for 12 yards. Diontae Johnson had a team-high six goals, resulting in the Molden interception and three receptions. Johnson’s longest catch covered seven yards. Young’s longest completion was a 12-yarder to tight end Tommy Tremble on the first play of the second half.
Johnson was asked if he was surprised by the lack of shots downfield.
“We all are,” he said. “But it is what it is. We’re not the ones who call the plays. So our job is to go there and perform whatever play they call and put it on film.
Coach Dave Canales stood up for Young when asked if he would start next week in Las Vegas.
“Bryce is our quarterback,” he said. “We’re just going to continue to strengthen and fix the things that we fundamentally need from a plan perspective. These are all valuable representatives. These are all valuable games. We will learn a lot from this match and hopefully we will take another step this week.”
Canales faces a tough decision when it comes to Young. Slotting him in favor of Andy Dalton after two games would be an indictment of his offense and the scouting prowess of general manager Dan Morgan, who was the assistant GM when the Panthers traded four draft picks (two firsts and two seconds) and the wide DJ Moore. to the Chicago Bears to take Young with the first pick.
But Canales risks alienating the locker room and fan base if he continues to play a quarterback who doesn’t give the Panthers the best chance to win. If the fans were restless on Sunday, the reception will be even rougher in a few weeks when the Panthers are still winless and Young is struggling.
Owner David Tepper will likely take over the decision from Canales at that point. Some encouraged the Panthers to grit their teeth during a tough season to get the No. 1 pick. But the loss of fans prompted Tepper to leave Ron Rivera and Matt Rhule behind.
Fans were heard chanting expletives along with Tepper’s name and encouraging the hedge fund billionaire to sell the team.
And the Panthers are in danger of turning every home game into a stadium takeover for visiting fans amid boobirds and fans with bags over their heads.
Fans at Bank of America Stadium are turning on the Panthers, especially after their performance Sunday against the Chargers. (Bob Donnan/USA Today)
The Panthers dropped their first two games this year by a combined 60 points, the second-largest consecutive loss margin in team history. When the Panthers played out the ropes in 2019 after Rivera was fired, the Panthers lost to the Indianapolis Colts 38-6 before falling 42-10 to the New Orleans Saints in the season finale.
The QBs in those games were Kyle Allen and Will Grier, an undrafted free agent and third-round selection — not the No. 1 pick right ahead of C.J. Stroud. While Young threw passes at or near the line of scrimmage, Sam Darnold — the starter for the Panthers’ 2022 resurgence under Steve Wilks — led the Minnesota Vikings to a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
With a 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, Darnold surpassed Young’s passing total for the day in one play. Darnold and Baker Mayfield, another ex-Carolina QB, are both 2-0 to start the season.
Canales pointed to third place as the source of the attacking problems. The Panthers have converted 1 of 12 third-down opportunities and are 2 of 22 this season. It would help if those third-down plays included passes to receivers beyond the first-down marker.
“Just make sure we challenge the sticks,” Canales said. “Some of it was by design and the plays are coming out the way they want to. But overall we had opportunities on both ends to make plays on third down, and it comes down to making plays.”
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Canales called parts of the second half as if the Panthers were up 23-3 but not trailing by that score. Late in the third quarter, the Panthers went run-run-pass and then punted on fourth-and-2 from their 25. Frankly, the run game was the only thing that worked: Hubbard averaged 6.4 yards on 10 carries .
But this is a transient league, and Canales’ vision was a strong rushing attack that made things easier for Young with play action and bootlegs. Canales continues to say it will take time to “become us,” but there is little indication this can be a competent offense with Young in charge.
“I love Bryce to death, man,” said Thielen, who finished with two catches for 20 yards. “He works himself to death. He’s a great player. This isn’t a Bryce Young problem. This is an offensive team issue. We are all in this together.
“There is no single person guilty of this crime. It’s something collective. I’m curious where we can go. But we have to figure out a way to make that happen urgently.”
It all sounds and looks a lot like last year, and we know how that turned out. Something or someone has to give.
(Top photo of Joey Bosa and Bryce Young: David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)