Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young never lost the faith.
Sunday’s 44-38 win over the Atlanta Falcons would’ve felt like a fever dream a few short months ago, when the 2023 No. 1 overall pick was shockingly benched just two weeks into his second NFL season. The 23-year-old recorded a career-high five touchdowns in the victorious Week 18 finale, capping off what has been an emergent run in finishing 2024.
Young, on Monday, was asked to reflect about his benching and the impact it had on his revival.
“I’m a big believer that everything happens for you, especially big-picture stuff,” he replied. “I’m a believer that God handles all that, and God doesn’t make mistakes. Just because something is difficult, whether you agree with it or not, or you enjoy it or not—I wanna do everything I can to make the choice, to make it beneficial, make it something I can grow from.”
In the two games before he was sat for 14th-year veteran Andy Dalton, Young completed 55.4 percent of his passes for 245 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions over a pair of blowout losses. In the 10 games after returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, he threw for a 61.8-percent completion rate, 2,104 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading the Panthers to a 4-6 record.
That work and the relatively respectable mark helped Young earn a strong endorsement from head coach Dave Canales following yesterday’s triumph. Canales, who had taken the quarterback decision on a weekly basis for much of the year, told reporters that Young is indeed their “guy” heading into 2025.
Young then talked about being entrusted with that stamp of approval.
“I’m super grateful,” he stated. “Always just wanted to instill belief in the team. As a leader, just learning in this league, the power of what that brings. Power of belief, power of one and to play for something, be able to rally people. That was, again, definitely a learning process. And anything that I can do, and just building that and instilling that, is something I take pride in.”
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