Bryce Young is headed back into a spotlight that once looked way too big for him, and this time the version the Lions are getting is a very different quarterback.
When Detroit last saw Young in 2023, he was still carrying the label of the No. 1 overall pick and still trying to find his footing as a rookie. That Week 5 meeting came with Young sitting on two touchdown passes and two interceptions, averaging 188 total yards per game, and dealing with real rookie-level punishment: a fumble in each of his first three games and 11 sacks. Detroit rolled to a 42-24 win, building a lead as large as 25 points before Young briefly sparked Carolina with two 75-yard touchdown drives.
That game, though, didn’t mark a breakthrough. It was more like a false dawn.
Young’s struggles kept rolling through the rest of 2023, when the Panthers stumbled to a 2-15 finish. The pressure only grew louder as C.J.
Stroud, the quarterback taken after Young in the 2023 draft, powered the Houston Texans to a playoff win, Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and a Pro Bowl selection. Young’s 2024 season only poured more fuel on the fire, with an early benching for Andy Dalton and plenty of talk about a Panthers mistake that couldn’t be undone.
But the story changed once Young got back in the lineup in Week 8 of that 2024 season. From there, he started stacking signs of progress.
He threw at least one touchdown pass in every remaining game, finished that stretch with 15 passing touchdowns and six interceptions, and topped a 100.0 passer rating in each of the Panthers’ final three games. Carolina went 4-6 in those 10 games after his return, with three of those wins coming in overtime.
Young carried that momentum into 2025, where he posted a career-high 23 touchdown passes against 11 interceptions and helped the Panthers win their first division title since Cam Newton’s MVP season and the run that ended with a Super Bowl appearance in 2015. His playoff debut that year was rocky against 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, but Carolina still led 31-27 with 2:39 left before Stafford delivered the game-winning drive.
Now comes another shot at Detroit, and the numbers say this is no longer the same quarterback the Lions saw three years ago. Young enters Sunday night with 939 passing yards, which leads the league, along with eight total touchdowns, two interceptions and no fumbles.
He’s completing 59.5% of his passes, but he’s also driving a Panthers offense that’s putting up 29.67 points per game. That’s a huge leap from the player Detroit faced in 2023, when his production and poise were still very much a work in progress.
The matchup also has the kind of setup that justified its Sunday Night Football slot from the start. The Lions are still chasing their own goals, while the Panthers arrive as the defending NFC South champions. Both offenses are humming, and both secondaries have enough questions to make this one feel like it could turn into a quarterback showcase.
For Young, it’s a chance to show how far he’s come. For Jared Goff, it’s a chance to match him throw for throw. And for everyone who watched Young grind through the early stages of his career, it’s a reminder that development in the NFL doesn’t always move in a straight line.
In Other News...
Dan Campbell Hinted At Big Lions Roster Decisions Before Carolina
With a short week leading into Carolina, Dan Campbell spent part of his pregame update signaling that the Lions still have some roster chess to play. Detroit is in trade talks for Joey Porter Jr., while safety Brian Branch is nearing a return to practice, and Campbell also made clear that he remains confident in linebacker Jack Campbell even after a slow start to the season. The message was less about the headlines than the direction: the Lions are still sorting out how their defense wants to look as the schedule tightens.
The immediate assignment, though, is straightforward enough. Detroit is focused on keeping Bryce Young from settling in, and Campbell said the biggest defensive concern beyond that is handling tight ends in the middle of the field. He also raised the possibility of rookie linebacker Jimmy Rolder getting defensive snaps, a reminder that the Lions may not be done adjusting the group as they balance short-term needs with longer-term decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Branch Return Timeline Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Brian Branchs path back to the field is starting to come into focus, and that matters for a Lions defense that has had to wait out one of its most important young pieces. The safety is close to returning from the Achilles injury he suffered last season, according to Dan Campbell, after beginning the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list. If the timeline holds, Branch is expected to be eligible to return to practice next week, a first step toward getting him back in the mix.
What happens after that will be the part Detroit is watching most closely. The Lions would then have the 21-day window to work through before deciding on activation, and Kelvin Sheppards recent comments about the defense and its preparation only add to the sense that the unit is bracing for a potentially meaningful addition. For a team trying to keep its defensive rhythm intact, Branchs return would be one of the more notable developments on the horizon. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Could Have Tough Trade Calls If Young Talent Keeps Rising
The Lions are heading toward the trade deadline in an unusual spot for a team still trying to build something lasting: they are expected to be buyers, but they also have to keep sorting through which veterans and depth pieces fit the roster long term. As Detroit evaluates its options, cornerback Amani Oruwariye, defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike and offensive lineman Logan Stenberg have surfaced as names to watch, especially if the front office decides a roster spot or draft asset can be better used elsewhere.
What makes the calculus trickier is that the answer may not be about those players alone. The Lions also have to factor in how younger talent is coming along and whether injuries create new pressure points before the deadline arrives. If those developments keep breaking the right way, Detroit could find itself making some difficult calls on useful pieces rather than simply adding help. [Read more 🡒]