By Dennis Cox
Bryce Young has a career day – Give credit where it’s due. 31 of 45 passing, 448 yards, 3 touchdowns, no turnovers. Yeah, Young balled out. All while dealing with an ankle injury that resurfaced a couple of times during the game. The run game for the Panthers has been shut down for two straight weeks as Rico Dowdle finished with 45 yards on 19 carries, while Chuba Hubbard added four carries for 21 yards. This was a game the Panthers needed Bryce Young to deliver through the air, and he did. He showed grit. He showed heart. And he battled. Even those most critical of Young – myself included – have to acknowledge that he was outstanding. But, this leads into the question…
Can Bryce Young be consistently good? – We’ve seen much of this season Bryce Young be average to below average as a passer. Going into the game against Atlanta, Young was completing passes at a rate of 61.7% rate, below the league average of 65.2%. His yards per attempt was 5.6, with league average at 7.1 YPA, and was only averaging 168 yards per game. Plus, the Bryce Young had thrown for 150 yards or less in five of nine games this season, and going into Sunday only had one game of 200-plus yards all year. That’s who has consistently been this year. Can he play at a league average level? So far, it’s too much Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The defense still doesn’t generate enough pressure – The Carolina Panthers finished with no sacks and had only one QB hit, which came from safety Tre’Von Moehrig. The Panthers are 31st in the NFL in pressure rate at 14.2%, 31st in QB knockdown percentage at 5.6%, 28th in sack percentage at 4.5%, and are 29th in the NFL in 3rd down conversions rate at 43.4%. The area where the Panthers have excelled this season is in the red zone, where they’re ninth in the league in red zone TD percentage at 52.9%. They’re bending and not breaking very often, which has allowed the Panthers to stay close in games. But as a whole, the defense needs to make more splash plays.