It wasn’t all that long ago that we were talking about Bryce Young’s need for improvement, but all of those conversations definitely seem to be in the rearview mirror at this point.
Young most recently led the Carolina Panthers to a thrilling overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals, coming out on the right end of a 36-30 final score.
He was ace on the field, completing 17 of his 26 passing attempts for 158 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He functioned as something of a dual threat, also rushing for 68 yards with one touchdown on the ground on five carries.
Head coach Dave Canales had a lot of praise for what Young did on the field, in addition to the toughness he showed when he took a shot.
“Yeah, he just played fast again,” Canales said in the postgame press conference. “You saw some of the scrambles early in the first half, where he was able to pick up some critical third downs for us there and run one in for a touchdown. It was about just being decisive, knowing where all the bones are buried, you know, and his concepts and being able to get to the scramble when those windows opened up for him.”
Former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said earlier this season that he felt like Young was really beginning to get it and that what the former Alabama quarterback did while he was benched is really paying dividends.
That much seems clear in the development that the early 2023 NFL Draft selection has shown.
“I thought what coach Dave Canales did was very brave,” Rivera said in an interview with RG. “And inevitably what ends up happening is that Andy Dalton was unfortunately in a car accident. They had to play Bryce and he played very well. What that tells you is, while he was benched, he was paying attention to the little details. He was supporting his teammates, he was around his teammates, now all of a sudden, he got his second opportunity.”
Though the Panthers will miss the playoffs, how Young continues to progress down the final stretch of the regular season will be something to keep an eye on before he and Carolina go back to the drawing board this offseason.