Panthers fans had a pretty unexpected soundtrack Sunday night at Bank of America Stadium: “MVP” chants for Bryce Young.
That alone would have sounded wild a few weeks ago. After four games, though, it’s getting harder to laugh it off.
Young isn’t just putting up empty numbers or padding stats in garbage time. He’s playing real football, and he’s doing it at a level that demands a second look.
Against Chicago, he threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. It was fair to wonder how much of that came with Carolina chasing the game, since the Panthers were getting blown out and had to throw constantly. That skepticism made sense.
Then came Atlanta. Young threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-3 win. After that, he went to Cleveland, finished with 291 passing yards, played behind a 51% pressure rate and still had Carolina driving with a chance to tie before a late turnover.
Sunday night against Detroit, he did it again.
At some point, the instinct to explain away what’s happening starts to feel forced. Four games is not a full season, but it’s also not nothing. And right now, Young has earned more than a shrug.
What’s been striking is how long every discussion around him has come with an asterisk. Too small.
Not enough protection. Not enough weapons.
Wrong quarterback. Maybe he’ll figure it out eventually.
That conversation is starting to feel outdated. The simplest read may be the right one: Bryce Young looks like a really good quarterback right now.
He didn’t have to carry the whole load Sunday, either. Tetairoa McMillan went for 192 yards and two touchdowns, and Chuba Hubbard added 122 rushing yards and a touchdown after a week in which the case was made to give him the ball more often. With a run game and a downfield threat working alongside him, the offense looked a lot cleaner.
That’s why the chants didn’t come off as ridiculous. Panthers fans were watching their quarterback beat a really good team on national television, and they were watching Carolina win a game plenty of people didn’t expect it to win. After what this fan base has seen in recent years, there’s no reason to tell them not to enjoy it.
This isn’t about putting Young on top of an MVP ballot after four games. It’s about recognizing what’s in front of everyone.
If he has a rough outing next week, that doesn’t erase the start he’s put together. And at this point, there’s no need to keep saying, “Let’s see him do it again.”
He already is.
Maybe he cools off. Maybe the conversation looks different in a month. But right now, the evidence is clear enough to trust what the eyes are seeing: Bryce Young is playing some of the best football in the league.
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Robert Griffin III added fuel to that shift by publicly calling for apologies to Young from the people who labeled him a bust, a sentiment Panthers supporters have been eager to embrace. For a team and fan base that spent so much of last season defending the quarterbacks long-term outlook, Youngs growth has created a new kind of comeback narrative, one that lets Carolina clap back with performance instead of projection. [Read more 🡒]