This particular December has been a long time coming for the Carolina Panthers, who haven’t played postseason football in almost eight years. The now-meaningful month will also mark a first in the professional career of quarterback Bryce Young.
Young spoke with reporters on Wednesday, ahead of the team’s Week 15 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. And with the Panthers currently tied atop the NFC South, the third-year passer was asked if the high-stakes nature of the upcoming slate feels any different than the ball that has come before it.
“No, it feels like football,” Young replied. “We talk about that all the time. We have to take things one day at a time. In this league, you don’t have the luxury to go and play hypotheticals, try to look forward. We have to focus on this week, this game. That’s all that matters.”
Not much had mattered this late into a season, at least as far as playoff hopes go, for Young and the Panthers. The last time Carolina had challenged for an NFC South crown past November was back in Week 17 of the 2022 campaign, when they lost to the (eventual) division-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At that point, Young was wrapping up his prolific collegiate career at the University of Alabama. A few months later, the Panthers would make him the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
Fast-forward three years and the Panthers now have another shot at the Bucs—as the two teams share the top spot of the NFC South entering Week 15. But Young, despite not having experience in these types of games, knows he and his teammates can’t look past the next one.
“It’s a great environment,” Young said of New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome. “Super unique atmosphere, they have a great fan base. It’s fun to play in and be a part of that. That’s NFL football—going up against a team like that in the venue that it is. We know the challenges that brings, going into a hostile environment.”
Young’s Panthers are 0-2 in their last pair of visits to see the Saints.
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