It's only Week 1, but the panic button is already on in Carolina.
Quarterback Bryce Young, the Panthers' No. 1 overall pick in 2023, finished with a passer rating of 32.8 in Sunday's humiliating 47-10 road loss to the Saints. With Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer “I looked the exact same at the beginning of my second year and the end of my first year — overwhelmed, undersized, out of place,” he said, musing about the Heisman Trophy winner's future.
“Obviously, the Panthers have invested their No. 1 pick in Young in the 2023 NFL Draft, so they're going to give him every opportunity. the man “We named him a starter and team captain in the first game of his NFL career and entrusted a huge part of our team's future to him. And he's only 23 years old. And he looked good in training camp and one drive in the preseason. And that's it,” Fowler wrote in his column.
“But wishing Young was that guy and actually having him be that guy are two completely different things.”
In his first game under rookie head coach Dave Canales' system, Young completed 13 of 30 attempts, threw for 161 yards, recorded two interceptions and rushed for a score.
Veteran reserve Andy Dalton replaced Young in the final two minutes of the game.
“Obviously you want to start well and we didn't do that today, so that's tough.” Young says.The Panthers were 2-15 last year.
“We're going to take it today, we're going to learn from it. We'll run the footage tomorrow, but it's not going to define us. Obviously it's a long year, and we've got to go at it with a sense of urgency and make sure we're rushing to get things in order and fix what needs to be fixed.”
The urgency was uneven on Young's part.
“Young hesitated when opponents were open and threw passes when they weren't open on Sunday. He was aggressive when he should have been cautious and cautious when he should have been aggressive,” Fowler wrote.
Canales, who helped transform Baker Mayfield into the Buccaneers' $100 million man as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator last season, emphasized that it's a “long journey” for the Panthers, not an immediate destination.
“We knew if we started 4-0 or started 0-4, whatever it was, we knew. We knew this was going to be a long time coming for us. You guys know me a little bit, but I can't help but understand that you need adversity to become who you want to be. Our guys come together and show their character in a tough loss like we had today and let it be what it is,” Canales said Sunday.
The next stop on the Panthers' “long journey” is Sunday's home opener against Jim Harbaugh's Chargers.
