Bryce Young’s hot start hit a speed bump Sunday, and the Panthers quarterback came out of it with an average grade after Carolina’s 21-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Young finished 26 of 48 for 291 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception, a clear step back from the numbers he put up in the first two weeks. He opened the season by throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears in Week 1, then followed that with 287 passing yards and three more scores against the Falcons in Atlanta.
Through two games, Young had been on top of the league in passing touchdowns and was second in passing yards. He was completing 63% of his passes, and his EPA per dropback sat at .24, which ranked seventh in the NFL. Cleveland’s defense put the brakes on that surge.
The Panthers are also watching his health after Young was moving gingerly following a sack in the first half. He stayed in the game, but he’ll undergo tests to start the week. Head coach Dave Canales didn’t identify the body part involved when Young was kicked during the game, but said he expects the quarterback to be fine for Week 4 and that imaging will be done to make sure nothing else is going on.
Young’s contract situation still hangs over the season, too. He is due to make $12.1 million this year in the fourth season of his rookie deal, and Carolina already picked up his fifth-year option, which is guaranteed for $25.9 million. The Panthers did not give him an extension, so another strong season matters if he’s going to get paid next offseason.
There was a time not long ago when that future looked far murkier. Young was benched for Andy Dalton in 2024, and plenty of people assumed his run in Carolina was basically over. Instead, the Alabama product kept working, helped lead the Panthers to the playoffs last season and then looked revived in the opening two weeks of this year.
Now he heads into Week 4 against the Detroit Lions with 939 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, two interceptions and a 59.5% completion rate. The Panthers will be hoping Sunday was just a blip.
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