Tag: Bryce Young

Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Third-Quarter Analysis

One quarter away from victory.

Notre Dame is in good shape to defeat Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the third quarter, but there was enough that people will talk about at game’s end.

[autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] pitched the ball to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] on the opening kickoff of the second half, and that got the Irish into Hoosiers territory. The ensuing possession went nowhere, but [autotag]James Rendell[/autotag] punted the ball 31 yards to back the Hoosiers up to their own 12-yard line.

The Hoosiers went three-and-out after Kurtis Rourke was sacked by [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and then [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag]. Mills’ sack proved costly though as he went down and ended up limping off the field. Fortunately, he was up and moving on the sidelines and could return to this game.

The Irish began their next possession at the Hoosiers’ 41. A late hit out of bounds on third down put them in the red zone, but even that nearly went for naught. They came up short on a fake field-goal attempt but were bailed out by a Hoosiers timeout right before the ball was snapped. That prompted them to do the sensible thing and have [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] actually kick a field goal, which he did from 33 yards out after a false start penalty.

After another Hoosiers three-and-out, the Irish drove for a few minutes before ending the quarter on the outskirts of field-goal range. That 20-3 lead sure looks safe, but stranger things have happened in college football. We’ll see.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Bryce Young’s Week 15 hiccup should not define his 2024 emergence

Bryce Young’s lowly day against the Cowboys may prove to be just a road bump on his road to reemergence.

After a month-long benching, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young returned under center for what was likely to be just a spot-start in Week 8. But it ended up being more than that.

The team’s 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos that weekend proved to be the beginning of a new breath for Young, who appeared more confident and poised than he did at the start of his second NFL campaign. He might not have lit up the box score, passing for two touchdowns and two interceptions, but the 23-year-old showed glimpses of improvement.

And since then, that breath has led to new life for Young’s career. He’s led the suddenly-frisky Panthers to two wins over seven contests, a run that also included three-near-upsets of the playoff-bound Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles.

In those performances, the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick showed resilience, comfort and composure, deadly accuracy and a knack for being the playmaking point guard the franchise selected a year ago. And again, while the numbers won’t blow many people away—as he’s averaged 213.1 passing yards per game—the exciting signs of development should.

Last Sunday, that steady momentum from Young crashed back down to Earth in Carolina’s 30-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The disappointing defeat saw Young commit a career-high four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles) and halt his encouraging progress.

Week 15, however, may just be a hiccup.

Young still showed slivers of confidence and ease despite his issues with ball security. Although he must be better at protecting the pigskin, his first fumble came at the tail end of an impressive scramble while his picks happened on a few brave throws.

Head coach Dave Canales talked about Young taking accountability for his giveaways on Friday.

“I think for Bryce, watching him in-game was what was so impressive,” Canales told reporters. “To see him just continue to stay in there, to have his footwork exactly where he needed to be, to throw to No. 1 in progression and really still see the field. I could not go past Monday without letting him know that.

“I’ve been around football for 15 years and to see where games like that can really pile up on a guy and to watch him handle and to be composed and to talk with his teammates and keep working through the issues—I thought was so impressive and I wanted to make sure he knew that, that that was great and that’s exactly what it looks like to play quarterback.”

Now, can Young shake off that underwhelming afternoon to finish this season on a strong note? Why not?

His play against teams such as Kansas City and Philadelphia offers a glimpse into the future of what Young could do while having average playmakers around him. He’s a quarterback who’s played on time and in rhythm for the last five to six games, and was mostly on schedule Sunday—even throughout a bad day.

If anything, Young’s confidence has not been shaken due to the trust he has instilled in his skill players, the offensive line and his offensive play-caller in Canales. This type of trust is important for a youthful quarterback and it sets a precedent for how next season goes.

One lowly game should not define how the team approaches him and the position this offseason. Patience will be key for these final three games.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales: ‘Bryce Young is gonna finish the season for us’

Panthers HC Dave Canales was asked if he’ll give Andy Dalton another look before the end of the season, and it doesn’t seem that way.

With only three games to go here in the 2024 season, Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has finally put the weekly quarterback conundrum to bed.

Last Sunday’s disappointing defeat to the Dallas Cowboys wasn’t Bryce Young’s finest hour under center. The second-year passer committed a career-high four turnovers in the 30-14 loss, tossing two interceptions and losing a pair of fumbles in his first real hiccup since returning to the starting lineup.

But even though Young couldn’t find a handle on the pigskin that day, Canales told reporters this afternoon that the 23-year-old still handled the situation well.

“I mean, this was a career-high,” he said after practice. “I think for Bryce, watching him in-game was what was so impressive. To see him just continue to stay in there, to have his footwork exactly where he needed to be, to throw to No. 1 in progression and really still see the field. I could not go past Monday without letting him know that.

“I’ve been around football for 15 years and to see where games like that can really pile up on a guy and to watch him handle and to be composed and to talk with his teammates and keep working through the issues—I thought was so impressive and I wanted to make sure he knew that, that that was great and that’s exactly what it looks like to play quarterback.”

Week 15 marked Young’s seventh game since reclaiming the starting job back from veteran Andy Dalton. He’s completed 60.6 of his passes for 1,492 yards (213.1 per game), eight touchdowns and six interceptions over those outings.

Canales, who has taken the starting quarterback decision on a week-by-week basis since the switch, was then asked if he’d like to see Dalton on the field again before the end of the campaign.

“Bryce is gonna finish the season for us,” he replied.

The Panthers are hosting the Arizona Cardinals for their final home game here in Week 16 and will close up with visits to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons in Weeks 17 and 18.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales talks about Bryce Young’s fumbles

Panthers HC Dave Canales: “If you have the ball, you’re holding it for the whole team.”

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was in ball-out mode this past weekend against the Dallas Cowboys. (Oh, wait . . . that should read “ball-is-out” mode.)

After a string of solid showings since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, Young coughed it up in Week 15, literally. Sunday’s 30-14 loss featured four turnovers from the second-year passer, who threw two picks and lost two fumbles.

Young, following the disappointing defeat, told reporters that he did not have issues with gripping the pigskin.

So if that wasn’t the case, how can he practice better ball security moving forward?

Head coach Dave Canales was asked that on Wednesday.

“Just the reinforcement,” Canales replied. “Every play is important. And particularly, as you start to extend plays and defenders are looking for those opportunities to know when those things happen. You’re going to the ground, it’s a vulnerable spot, we gotta cover it up with two hands going down. When you’re in the pocket, keep two hands on it.

“It’s all across the board. We talk about the ball, first and foremost, as a team. And yes, we talk to each ball carrier—whoever that is. If you have the ball, you’re holding it for the whole team.”

The four giveaways were a career-high for Young.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales on abandoning the run in Week 15 loss to Cowboys: ‘I don’t regret that at all’

The Panthers called just three designed runs in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. HC Dave Canales explained why.

Some, or maybe many, would argue that the Carolina Panthers put their offense on a platter for the Dallas Cowboys defense in Week 15. In fact, the very best member of that Dallas Cowboys defense stated exactly that on Sunday.

All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons broke down his unit’s dominance from yesterday’s 30-14 win over the Panthers—one where they held their opposition to just 235 total yards while recording six sacks and four takeaways. He told reporters after the game that Carolina’s pass-heavy approach allowed him and his teammates to tee off.

“They felt like they had to put some points on the board and had to get after it and get way from the run, because it wasn’t hitting early on,” Parsons said. “It allowed us to be able to get after the quarterback. That’s what complimentary football does. With our offensive playing that well and putting together consistent drives puts pressure on them and they had to get away from their game plan.”

The six sacks stood as a season-worst for the Panthers offense, as did the four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) from quarterback Bryce Young. Sunday’s second half, which started with the team down 10-7, saw head coach and offensive play-caller Dave Canales dial up 26 designed passes to just three runs.

Canales was asked about his choice to abandon the run on Monday.

“I wrestled with it,” he replied. “And I just felt the whole flow of it. I felt the success that the Cowboys were having, too, on the other side. And I felt like the accumulation of the last couple of weeks and our ability to find success in the pass game. So I felt that we would have a chance to be balanced that way and to try to get a few more first downs.

“But with the turnovers and then the points and then all of a sudden, we come out in the second half, we take a sack and fumble right off the bat and it was like the score put us in a situation where—I’m always for competing and I think you would ask any of our players, they want us to go, they wanna be aggressive and say, ‘Okay, well let’s just get after it and try to attack these guys to work ourselves back into the game.’ So I don’t regret that at all.”

Running back Chuba Hubbard, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career last week, recorded just 10 carries for 32 yards in the defeat.

The Cowboys entered Week 15 with the third-worst run defense in the NFL.

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Panthers QB Bryce Young says he didn’t have trouble gripping the ball in 4-turnover day

Panthers QB Bryce Young committed a career-high four turnovers in Sunday’s 30-14 loss to the Cowboys.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was not one with the ball on Sunday. In fact, the ball looked like it wanted absolutely nothing to do with him throughout this afternoon’s messy loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Young, in the disappointing 30-14 defeat, committed four turnovers. The second-year passer—who came into Week 15 playing the best football of his NFL career—completed 19 of his 28 throws for 219 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while losing a pair of fumbles.

At times, the 5-foot-10, 204-pounder appeared to have issues actually holding on to the pigskin. Young, after the game, was asked if he found it difficult to grip the ball.

“Nah,” he replied. “None of that. Just have to do a better job of ball security. Can’t put a ball on the floor like that. So, that’s just on me.”

In addition to the career-high four giveaways, Young also ate a season-high six sacks. He was asked how much Dallas star pass rusher Micah Parsons and his own offensive line played into the pressure-filled outing.

“Credit to them—that’s a really good, really good unit over there,” he stated. “Obviously, really good players. So, they deserve their credit. But stuff I can do better as well—which is getting the ball out quicker, slide protection, whatever it may be—it’s not just the line.”

Parsons recorded two of the six takedowns.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales is asked if Bryce Young will continue as starting QB after rough Week 15 outing

Panthers QB Bryce Young didn’t have a very good day against the Cowboys. So, HC Dave Canales was asked if Young will remain the starter for Week 16.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young just had his worst outing since returning to the starting lineup back in Week 8. But it wasn’t bad enough to put his job in danger.

Sunday afternoon saw Young commit a career-high four turnovers in Carolina’s disappointing 30-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The former No. 1 overall pick completed 19 of his 28 throws for 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while coughing up a pair of fumbles.

After the game,  ESPN’s David Newton asked head coach Dave Canales if Young will remain the starting quarterback for next week’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

“Yeah,” Canales replied without hesitation. “Bryce will play next week. Yup.”

Young and the Panthers, despite three consecutive losses, were riding into Week 15 relatively smoothly. They fell just short in a trio of near-upsets to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles and came into their contest against the Cowboys as the betting favorites.

That contest, however, was far from competitive—as the Panthers were thoroughly outgained by the Cowboys, 410 yards to 235. Young also ate six sacks on the afternoon, the most he’s taken all season.

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Panthers fans react to Bryce Young and Jalen Coker’s electric 83-yard TD

Bryce Young and Jalen Coker connected for the Panthers’ longest play of the 2024 season on Sunday.

Down 10-0 near the end of the first half, and with the Dallas Cowboys threatening for more, the Carolina Panthers desperately needed a spark to keep their chances in Week 15 alive. Fortunately for them, that spark came in a flash.

The complementary football head coach Dave Canales has been looking for showed up in the final minute of the second quarter, when outside linebacker DJ Johnson recovered a fumble at Carolina’s own 17-yard line.

That, on the very next snap, would be followed by an 83-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Bryce Young and rookie wide receiver Jalen Coker. Their less conventional scoop-and-score turned what could have been at least a 13-0 deficit into a 10-7 one.

Here’s how Panthers fans reacted to their team’s longest and most exciting play of the season . . .

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Report: ‘The Teppers are letting the football people do the football things’

Report: Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper are “showing confidence in general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales.”

The change may very well be real for the Carolina Panthers.

Tomorrow’s matchup against last year’s NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys will kick off with the Panthers as the betting favorites, the first such instance for the team since the 2022 campaign. There are a few important factors to attribute that standing to—including a No. 1 overall pick who is actually playing like a No. 1 overall pick and a head coach whose game plan and vision have made a positive impact on the locker room.

There may, however, be another person or two to credit.

Dianna Russini, senior NFL insider for The Athletic, highlighted the organization’s recent turnaround in her newest column from Saturday morning. She notes that owners David and Nicole Tepper are “letting the football people do the football things.”

Russini writes:

Carolina Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper strongly believe they have the right leaders in place. The owners are sticking with their vision for the future, showing confidence in general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales. Both will be back next season, and it’s easy to see why — ownership is thrilled by the steady growth of second-year quarterback Bryce Young, who’s starting to show off his special qualities. Tepper has a high standard, and losing close games to good opponents still isn’t good enough, but this team is trending in a different direction than it was just two months ago.

The Teppers, particularly David, have received some criticism in the past for being a bit too hands-on with the football side of the operation.

Whether or not that’s fair, the results haven’t been kind to the billionaire businessman—who has cycled through four different full-time head coaches and 10 different starting quarterbacks in his seven years as owner. Those seven years, in addition, have failed to yield a single winning season.

But even at 3-10 as we enter Week 15, this losing record feels very different.

As Russini also wrote, the Panthers are “no longer beating themselves with costly mistakes” and have been remarkably competitive of late. Carolina—in their last three outings—nearly pulled off impressive upsets of the 12-1 Kansas City Chiefs, the 7-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 11-2 Philadelphia Eagles.

So while the wins still have to come, the outlook for the Panthers certainly feels the brightest it has in quite some time.

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Panthers All-22 film review: Bryce Young activates clutch gene vs. Eagles in Week 14

A clutch performance from Bryce Young kept the underdog Panthers in their fight against the Eagles on Sunday.

Despite falling short of yet another thrilling upset on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers are continuing to grow before our very eyes. This once 1-7 team, which was being forced to eat blowout after blowout on a weekly basis early in the season, are actually learning how to win football games over the past month.

Carolina’s recent breakthrough can be linked to the breakout of quarterback Bryce Young, who has emerged in the last several games as a clean and potent playmaker. And even in Week 14’s 22-16 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, the former No. 1 overall pick may have offered up his most exciting and encouraging performance yet.

Let’s analyze the film from Young’s outing from this past weekend . . .

The Film

In recent weeks, the Panthers offense has toyed with opposing defenses using their stable of under-center play-action concepts. While this is a little more about the play-calling and designs by head coach Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, overall, the success also has to do with Young’s operation through and through.

Focus on Young’s footwork below, as he creates a wider platform to work off. Lately, we’ve been pointing out that the Young’s drops are becoming more deliberate and stern. As soon as he hitches, he’s already beginning his throwing process.

Young layers this pass with perfect touch and drops it into the hands of wide receiver David Moore, who does a good job of beating Eagles cornerback Darius Slay at the line of scrimmage with physicality

The connection helps the Panthers convert a third-and-2 to set up a touchdown-scoring trip into the red zone.

Good quarterbacks who have the ability to use their legs are always in a pass-first mindset before scrambling. Young has been doing a great job of this, taking what’s in front of him and making good decisions as a signal-caller.

On this third-and-5 early in the fourth quarter, the Panthers are in a must-have situation down six points against the No. 1 defense in the NFL. As Young hitches in his drop, he doesn’t see open options in front of him, forcing him to initially attempt to create yards with his legs.

The big thing here is that he keeps his eyes downfield as he is running up the pocket. As he begins to do so, ol’ reliable Adam Thielen squeaks open to the middle of the field and allows Young to fire a quick pass on the move.

Sunday’s performance also proved that Young still has that clutch gene, one of his major traits during his illustrious career at the University of Alabama.

The Panthers are facing third-and-11 from their 2-yard line following Young’s illegal forward pass. As he makes his drop and begins his progressions, he then starts the scramble drill to create and find someone to get open.

He somehow evades two would-be sacks, keeps his eyes downfield and throws to rookie wideout Xavier Legette for a huge 31-yard gain on the final offensive series of the game.

This play was nothing short of spectacular, and it’s beginning to give Panthers fans hope once again.

For the third week in a row, the opposing defense sent a blitz against Young in an attempt to rattle and force him into a bad decision. And once again, the former No. 1 overall pick defeated the pressure in a high-octane moment.

Young’s lack of confidence and comfort against pressure helped lead to his early-season benching after Week 2. Fast-forward 12 weeks later and he has become one of the best signal-callers in the game at winning against the pressure—especially on this fourth-and-2 with the game on the line.

The Eagles send a six-man pressure on the Panthers with man coverage in the secondary. Canales calls a flood concept to the left with Thielen running a deep out. Young shows trust and confidence in not just his playmakers, but his protection as well—who do a great job at picking up free rushers.

This allows Young to scan the field and fire a dart from the far hash to Thielen to convert the fourth down. The completion showed Young’s high-level poise and composure in the face of all-out pressure as well as his ability to make the big throws in anxiety-driven moments.

The Verdict

When Young returned to the starting lineup six games ago, the three biggest games I had circled as must-prove matchups were those versus the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Eagles. He has passed those three challenges with flying colors.

Not only has Young begun to play with more control and poise, but he is malso making the Panthers fun to watch—even despite the 3-10 record.

Young is inching closer to being the team’s long-term franchise quarterback. He must continue to maintain this consistency and play.

Sure, he will never be pitch-perfect like some expect him to be, but it is difficult to ignore the success he has had of late. And this success hasn’t come against soft competition—it’s come against three likely playoff teams—two of which could be playing in the Super Bowl LIX.

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