The Panthers were a running team in Sunday’s game against the Rams. On first downs, they passed the ball on only 4 of 21 opportunities, rushing the other 17 times (excluding the kneel-down). The objective was simple: shorten the game and follow a similar script to the one used against the Packers in Week 9.
The problem with this approach was that the Rams still had some success on offense despite the two Stafford interceptions that shaped the game. The Rams had more first downs (22 vs. 17), more net offensive yards (379 vs. 358), and far fewer penalties (only 1 compared to the Panthers’ 7).
So the Panthers still needed their quarterback to play good football. And he delivered. On third and fourth downs, Bryce Young went 8-of-10 for 162 yards and all three touchdowns. He generated 14.45 total EPA, the highest passing EPA on late downs in a single game by any quarterback in the 2025 season.
Very nice touch by Bryce Young on the TD to TMac. Great protection too pic.twitter.com/Jdf6ApMNJK
Young became just the second quarterback since 2016 to throw multiple fourth-down touchdown passes that traveled more than 10 air yards in a single game, the only other to do it was Joe Flacco, in his Bengals debut in Week 6 earlier this season.
The Panthers have attempted 30 fourth-down conversions this season (the second-most in the league, trailing only the Giants) and they’ve converted 21 of them, a 70% success rate that ranks fifth in the NFL. They’ve clearly established an identity, and that’s something the fans had been waiting for for a long time.
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