Bryce Young’s rise in Week 1 was hard to miss.
The Panthers quarterback went from the lowest point of a rough rookie year in 2023 to one of the biggest stock movers after Carolina’s opening-week performance. That first season was a grind from the start.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick in that draft, started 16 games under Frank Reich, who was fired after a 1-10 start, and interim coach Chris Tabor. Carolina finished 2-15, the worst record in the NFL.
Young’s numbers told the story of the struggle. He threw for 2,877 yards, completed 59.8 percent of his passes, and finished with 11 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions.
He added 253 rushing yards but never got into the end zone on the ground. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner also lost six of his 11 fumbles and took a staggering 62 sacks.
Dave Canales changed the direction of the conversation in 2024. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator and first-year Panthers head coach benched Young after two games and turned to veteran Andy Dalton. Young’s return came only after Dalton suffered a thumb injury, and from there he took over for the final 10 games.
That stretch gave Carolina a much better version of its quarterback. Young threw 15 touchdown passes against six interceptions, ran for five scores, and helped the Panthers win four of their last 10 after a 1-6 start.
His 2025 season pushed the improvement even further. Young started all 16 games and posted career highs in completion percentage at 63.6, passing yards at 3,011, and touchdown passes at 23. He also finished with 15 total turnovers, including 11 interceptions and four lost fumbles, but the production came with enough flashes to keep the optimism alive.
That carried into last Sunday, even in a 59-37 home loss to the Chicago Bears. Young threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and he added a seven-yard rushing score in the wild defeat. Carolina put up 448 total yards and scored more points in that game than in any other contest it played in 2025.
The performance was enough to catch attention nationally. Earlier this week, Nick Shook of NFL.com moved Young from No. 14 to No. 10 in his QB Index.
“A typically up-and-down quarterback, Young looked confident in his most aggressive game since he threw for 448 yards in Carolina’s Week 11 win over Atlanta last season. Most importantly, Young finally looked fully comfortable in Dave Canales’ offense, made decisions with conviction and truly elevated Carolina’s offense.”
Shook also noted that the Panthers still couldn’t match what Chicago put on the board.
“Was it enough to keep up with Caleb Williams’ Bears?” added Shook.
“No. But it’s worth tracking over the next month, because it could heavily influence his contract talks with the Panthers if this is a preview of what’s to come.”
The next test is whether Young can stack strong performances together, something he has not done consistently so far. With his brief history against the Atlanta Falcons, he now has a promising chance to build on this start.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Still Faces One Panthers Question He Hasn't Answered
Bryce Youngs strong start to the 2026 season has given the Panthers a much-needed lift, but it has not fully settled the biggest question hanging over his future in Carolina. The early results have been encouraging enough to keep the conversation moving in a positive direction, yet the long view still matters for a team that has spent plenty of time searching for stability behind center.
Todd McShay added another layer to that discussion in a recent mock draft, projecting the Panthers to look at Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr with the No. 7 overall pick in 2027 if they decide to move on from Young. Carr has made an early impression this season, and where Carolina ends up in the draft could end up telling the story of how convinced the organization really is about Youngs hold on the job. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Found Early Hope With Bryce Young But Week 2 Gets Tougher
Bryce Young and the Panthers left Week 1 with something they badly needed: evidence that the offense can be sharper where it matters most. Against the Bears, Carolina turned all four of its red-zone trips into touchdowns or field goals, a major step up from last seasons struggles, and it did so by leaning into a more aggressive passing approach instead of defaulting to safe runs near the goal line.
The challenge now is carrying that formula into a much tougher divisional test against the Falcons. Carolinas red-zone execution was built on spreading the ball around and trusting Young to make quicker, more decisive throws, and theres a real case for sticking with it. The question is whether that same rhythm can hold up when the opponent is better prepared and the windows get tighter. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Face An Uncomfortable Week 2 Warning In Atlanta
All four NFC South teams came out of the first week of the 2026 season with a loss, which leaves the Panthers in the same crowded spot as everyone else in the division heading into Week 2. For Carolina, the trip to Atlanta now carries a little extra weight, because it is the first chance to sort out an early-season logjam and avoid letting an already messy division race get any messier.
The Falcons are dealing with major quarterback injury issues, with Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. both in the mix, and Cooper Rush is expected to get the start despite recent struggles. Even with that uncertainty, one CBS Sports analyst picked Atlanta to pull an upset, pointing to the way the Falcons want to run their offense and the defensive showing they just turned in. For the Panthers, that makes this more than a simple road game. It is an early warning that the division may be offering opportunities, but not many easy ones. [Read more 🡒]