Tag: Bryce Young

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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Would the Panthers have ever started Bryce Young again if Andy Dalton didn’t get injured in a car accident?

Would Bryce Young have ever gotten his second chance in 2024 if not for Andy Dalton’s car accident? Panthers HC Dave Canales was asked that on Monday.

The future between quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers has never appeared brighter than it does at this very moment. And to think, they wouldn’t be in this position if not for a traffic accident.

Five days before Carolina’s Week 8 matchup with the Denver Broncos, then-starting quarterback Andy Dalton and his family were involved in a minor car accident in Charlotte. Luckily, no one was seriously injured—but the 14th-year veteran did come away from the collision with a sprained right thumb.

That setback unexpectedly gave way to Young, who had been benched for Dalton after a disappointing first two games of the campaign. Young, in a pair of blowout losses in Weeks 1 and 2, passed for just 245 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

To that point, the 23-year-old was merely considered a temporary solution—as Dalton was likely in line to regain the job once healthy. Plus, there were rumblings that the organization was pretty much done with Young.

But, uh, something changed.

Young took the opening and never looked back, giving a solid account of himself against Denver that weekend and following that up with a triumphant performance over the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. And in the six games since his reentry, he’s looked every bit of the No. 1 overall pick that was drafted in 2023.

So, what if Dalton didn’t get injured? Would the Panthers have eventually wanted to get at least another look at Young before the 2024 season was over?

Head coach Dave Canales, who was largely non-committal to Young throughout much of the last few months, was asked exactly that on Monday.

“Yeah, it would’ve been really interesting,” Canales replied to ESPN’s David Newton. “And fortunately, fortunately, we got the opportunity, Bryce got the opportunity that he did. And on the other side of it, I was pulling for Andy at the time, too—who was building some weeks. He had a couple of rough weeks and was like, ‘Okay, here we go. Let’s get this thing back on track.’

“It’s two stories. And that’s life. Bryce made the most of his opportunities and here we are. Just, with the weekly growth and took another step in a positive direction against a really good team.”

That really good team was the Philadelphia Eagles, who narrowly avoided the biggest upset of the year in Week 14 to move to 11-2. Young passed for 191 yards, a touchdown and an interception against what was the No. 1-ranked defense coming into the weekend.

While those numbers didn’t translate into a win for the Panthers, Young stacked another encouraging outing on top of what’s been one of the best stories of the season.

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Top photos from Eagles 22-16 win over Panthers that saw Saquon Barkley make history

Top photos from Eagles 22-16 win over Panthers that saw Saquon Barkley make history

The Eagles are 11-2, winners of nine straight games after a 22-16 win over the much improved Carolina Panthers (3-10) at Lincoln Fnaincla Field.

The afternoon saw Saquon Barkley break LeSean McCoy’s franchise record for rushing yards in a season. This set Philadelphia up for a huge intrastate matchup against the Steelers (10-3) in Week 15, which should certainly be the NFL’s game of the week.

With preparation for Pittsburgh set to begin, we’re looking at the top photos from Sunday’s win.

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Xavier Legette heartbreakingly dropped a late Bryce Young TD pass that would’ve upset the Eagles

Xavier Legette ruined the best game of Bryce Young’s career.

At this point, all the woeful Carolina Panthers have to play for is getting Bryce Young valuable experience. And for the most part, they’re accomplishing that mission. After getting benched in the early season, Young has started to play really well lately, as evidenced by a solid afternoon on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles.

In fact, we should probably say it was more than solid, as Young’s impeccable playmaking on the Panthers’ final drive gave Carolina a real chance at upsetting the NFC’s current second-best team.

Unfortunately, for as good as Young was in probably the finest game of his young career, Panthers receiver Xavier Legette wasn’t up to the task in the clutch. When Young uncorked a beautiful downfield dime to Legette in the final minute — which would’ve given the Panthers the lead and likely upset — the rookie playmaker couldn’t finish the process of the catch.

Oof. What a brutal turn of events:

Again, the Panthers don’t have anything to play for, so losing here doesn’t mean anything for NFC playoff implications. Still, it hurts to see Legette drop a touchdown on the biggest play of the game and prevent Young from putting a feather in his cap.

Carolina Panthers vs. Philadelphia Eagles: Everything we know

The Carolina Panthers, for the third straight week, gave their heavily-favored opponent a scare. But unfortunately for them, it ended the same way the last two did. Here’s everything we know from Sunday’s nail-biting loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:

The Carolina Panthers, for the third straight week, gave their heavily-favored opponent a scare. But unfortunately for them, it ended the same way the last two did.

Here’s everything we know from Sunday’s nail-biting loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:

  • As expected, running back Saquon Barkley was the engine of the Philadelphia offense. The Offensive Player of the Year favorite rushed for a game-high 124 yards on 20 carries.
  • Carolina’s running back also kept his offense moving. Chuba Hubbard, who reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career, notched 92 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
  • Quarterback Bryce Young kept the Panthers alive with his clutch playmaking ability. Young—who completed 19 of his 34 throws for 191 yards, a touchdown and an interception—helped Carolina convert on three of their five fourth-down attempts on the day.
  • The Panthers defense also gave the team a chance for the upset, holding quarterback Jalen Hurts to just 108 passing yards while racking up four sacks.

That clutch play from Young really showed up on the Panthers’ very last possession of the game, which started on their own 3-yard line down by six. He was able to trek his unit down to the Philadelphia 37-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-9 with 37 seconds remaining.

Young, however, could not connect with wideout Adam Thielen—giving the Eagles possession and the ballgame.

  • RB Chuba Hubbard: 26 carries, 92 yards, touchdown
  • WR Adam Thielen: nine receptions, 102 yards
  • LB Josey Jewell: 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks

Carolina’s mini-NFC East tour will continue into Week 15, when they travel to face the Dallas Cowboys (5-7).

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Eagles survive upset bid by Panthers

The Eagles improve to 11-2 by edging the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers came up just short as they tried to upend the Philadelphia Eagles at the Linc on Sunday.

They could blame themselves for the 22-16 loss to the NFC East leaders.

Late in the game faced with a fourth-and-four in Eagles territory, somehow the Panthers were called for a delay of game.

The fourth-and-nine pass to Adam Thielen went incomplete. Adding insult to defeat, the Panthers’ Ikem Ekwonu was called for an illegal blindside block on their last offensive play.

Overall, it is another game that saw Carolina’s improvement. The Panthers drove from their three on the last drive and had a chance for a winning score.

This could have — and turned out to be — a trap game for the Eagles, who have the Steelers next in PennsylMania.

 

Tom Brady gives his thoughts on recent improvement of Panthers QB Bryce Young

Tom Brady on the recent growth of Panthers QB Bryce Young: “I’m really happy for him.”

He hasn’t experienced the expectations of being a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL, but Tom Brady may know a thing or two about playing quarterback at the highest level.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Most Valuable Player quickly joined the set of FOX NFL Kickoff this morning, where he discussed the recent bounce-back of Bryce Young ahead of the Carolina Panthers’ Week 14 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“First of all, I’m happy to see he’s playing better,” Brady stated. “There’s so much expectation coming in. Everyone expects you to go right in and light the world on fire. It’s a hard task. There’s a lot of things to learn, certainly as a rookie.

“It’s very different. College football is very different than pro football. But that leap is huge. It takes a lot of time to get your feet underneath you, and he’s done that. I’m really happy for him.”

Young, before his benching at the beginning of Week 3, passed for just 245 yards and three interceptions in a pair of blowout losses. Since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, he’s completed 60.4 percent of his throws for 1,082 yards (216.4 per game), six touchdowns and three interceptions while leading the Panthers to a 2-3 mark.

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Eagles vs Panthers: what to bet in today’s game

The Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) return home on Sunday to host the Carolina Panthers (3-9). While the Panthers have improved in the last month, the Eagles need every win to fight for the first seed in the NFC.

The Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) return home on Sunday to host the Carolina Panthers (3-9). While the Panthers have improved in the last month, the Eagles need every win to fight for the first seed in the NFC.

Right now on BetMGM, the Eagles are heavily favorited (-900) with the Panthers being huge road dogs (+600). The over/under is set at 46 total points at (-110) odds in either direction.

Here are some great bets to make for Sunday’s game, odds courtesy of BetMGM.

Panthers First Quarter (+230)

The Eagles have struggled this season to score in the first quarter, so I wouldn’t be surprised (nor worried) if the Panthers take the first quarter win. If you don’t want to take any money lines, this would be your smartest bet.

Jalen Hurts O 201.5 Passing Yards (-110)

At this point in the season, the Panthers are somewhat prepared for Saquon Barkley. In the chance that the Eagles make this game a game, they’ll need to rely on Hurts’ passing game. As they approach playoffs, the Eagles are going to need to keep the passing game strong.

DeVonta Smith Over 47.5 Receiving Yards (-115)

I don’t think BetMGM got the memo that Smith will be back in the game this weekend. He is going to have a baller game and likely come back like nothing left. The only logical reason why Smith would have under 47 yards is if coach Nick Sirianni limits his play time.

Check out how you can listen and watch Sunday’s Eagles-Panthers game.

Read all the best Eagles coverage at Delaware Online and Eagles Wire.

Panthers coach on biggest difference in Bryce Young: confidence and decisiveness

Dave Canales says the biggest difference in Bryce Young is his confidence and decisiveness

No game in the NFL is easy, and as the Eagles (10-2) wrap up final preparation for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers (3-9), all defensive eyes and focus will be on second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

Young found the endzone twice against the Buccaneers last week. His first of the day came on a 10-yard rush in the second quarter, his second rushing touchdown of the season and career. Young then found veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Panthers a late lead.

That connection with Thielen marked his fifth-straight game with a passing touchdown, the longest career streak. In his last five games, Young has seven total touchdowns, which is the most in a five-game span in his career. Young finished the day against Tampa, completing 26-of-46 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown.

He also had three rushes for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Before Carolina departed for Philadelphia, Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked to pinpoint Young’s most considerable improvement since his early season benching.

Since re-gaining the starting role in Week 8 against Denver, Young has 858 passing yards, five total touchdowns, and only one interception. Young’s 84.6 passer rating during that span is third in the NFL, and he has led the Panthers on the game-tying or game-winning drives in the last four games. He hasn’t thrown an interception in three consecutive games for the second time in his career (Weeks 14-16, 2023).

Philadelphia’s top-ranked defense will look to pressure Young off the edge while maintaining rushing lanes.

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Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. gives his thoughts on Bryce Young’s recent growth

Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. examined how Bryce Young’s benching ended up helping the second-year QB.

Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. has been on the Bryce Young bandwagon from Day One—or the 2023 University of Alabama Pro Day, to be more exact. And despite the bumpy ride that the bandwagon has taken, he’s never gotten off.

The franchise’s all-time leading receiver joined the latest episode of the Pardon My Take podcast, where he spoke about the recent resurgence of Young. Smith tells host Dan “Big Cat” Katz that the team’s early-season decision to bench the former No. 1 overall pick, which looked quite bad back in Week 3, looks a heck of a lot better now.

Young was benched two games into his second NFL campaign after leading the Panthers to a pair of blowout losses. He, in those defeats, completed 55.4 percent of his passes for 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, Young has recorded a 60.4-percent completion rate, 216.4 passing yards per game, seven total scores and three picks. The Panthers are 2-3 in those starts.

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