Panthers say they don’t have a ‘Bryce Young problem’: But is it time for change?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After two straight losses to start his NFL career, Bryce Young sat out a Week 3 trip to Seattle last year with a sprained ankle. Many thought it was more of a mental blow for the No. 1 overall pick.
Well, the Carolina Panthers head west again in Week 3 after two straight losses, both much worse than last year, and it’s questionable whether Young would benefit from taking a week off.
Or longer.
With each loss, Young looks less and less like the answer at quarterback. The 5-foot-10, 2021 Heisman winner completed a respectable 18 of 26 passes in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. But those completions yielded 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 throw passes over pass rushers and seems afraid to throw the ball downfield, probably because nothing good happens when he does. One of Young’s few downfield attempts was intercepted by safety Elijah Molden in a play that looked eerily similar to Young’s first pass-of-the-season pick in the 47-10 drubbing of New Orleans.
Fans booed loudly after Young’s interception on Sunday, then booed when another third-down throw missed the first-down marker. The crowd, which included Charlotte rapper DaBaby and several fans with bags on their heads, booed as Panthers players left the field at halftime — with 15 1/2 games remaining.
They weren’t the only ones frustrated.
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Experienced receiver Adam Thielen lost his cool and started screaming on the sidelines after Young was sacked midway through the third quarter, when Thielen still hadn’t been targeted. He later apologized to Young, though he said his “boiling” moment wasn’t directed at Young specifically.
The Panthers’ reception numbers resembled those 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 targets, resulting in the Molden interception and three receptions. Johnson’s longest catch went for 7 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 from the sideline.
“We all are,” he said. “But it is what it is. We’re not the ones announcing the plays. So our job is to go out there and perform every play they announce 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 to fix from a scheme standpoint. These are all valuable reps. These are all valuable games. We’re going to learn a lot from this game and hopefully take another step this week.”
Canales faces a tough decision when it comes to Young. Benching him after two games in favor of Andy Dalton would be an indictment of his offense and the scouting skills of general manager Dan Morgan, who was assistant GM when the Panthers traded four draft picks (two firsts and two secondaries) and wideout DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears to take Young with the first pick.
But Canales risks alienating the locker room and the fans if he continues to field a quarterback who doesn’t give the Panthers the best chance to win. If fans were restless on Sunday, the reception will be even ruder in a few weeks if the Panthers are still without a win and Young is struggling.
Owner David Tepper will likely take the decision off Canales’ plate at that point. Some would encourage the Panthers to bite through a tough season to get the No. 1 pick. But losing the fans is what prompted Tepper to move on from Ron Rivera and Matt Rhule.
Fans chanted insults with Tepper’s name attached, urging the hedge fund billionaire to sell the team.
And the Panthers run the risk of every home game turning into a stadium takeover by visiting fans, amid angry fans 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 lost their first two games this year by a combined 60 points, the second-largest consecutive loss differential in team history. When the Panthers closed out the series in 2019 after Rivera was fired, the Panthers fell to the Indianapolis Colts 38-6 before falling to the New Orleans Saints 42-10 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 overall pick taken just 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 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
With a 97-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, Darnold surpassed Young’s passing total for the day on one play. Darnold and Baker Mayfield, another former Carolina QB, are both 2-0 to start the season.
Canales pointed to third down as the source of the offensive woes. The Panthers have converted 1 of 12 third-down opportunities and are 2 of 22 on the season. It would help if those third-down plays included passes to receivers positioned beyond the first-down marker.
“Just make sure we challenge the sticks,” Canales said. “Some of it was intentional and the plays come as they’re going to come. But overall we had opportunities on both sides on third down to make plays, and it comes down to making plays.”
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Canales called parts of the second half as if the Panthers were leading 23-3, not trailing by that score. Late in the third quarter, the Panthers went run-run-pass, then punted on fourth-and-2 from their 25. To be fair, the run game was the only thing that worked: Hubbard averaged 6.4 yards on 10 carries.
But this is a passing league, and Canales’ vision was a strong rushing attack that would make things easier for Young with play-action and bootlegs. Canales keeps saying it takes time to “become us,” but there’s little evidence that this can be a competent offense with Young leading the way.
“I love Bryce to death, man,” said Thielen, who finished with two catches for 20 yards. “He works his ass off. He’s a great player. This isn’t a Bryce Young problem. This is an offensive, team problem. We’re all in this together.
“There is no individual in this offense that is at fault. It’s a collective thing. I’m excited about where we can go. But we have to find a way to have urgency to get that done.”
It all sounds and looks like last year, and we know how that ended. Something or someone has to give.
(Top photo of Joey Bosa and Bryce Young: David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
