It’s been a Jekyll and Hyde type of season for the Carolina Panthers.
Beat the Atlanta Falcons by 30 points, lose to the New England Patriots by 29 the following week. Fall to the Buffalo Bills at home by 29, upset the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field the next week. Look overmatched against the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.” Look inspired against the Los Angeles Rams six days later.
That hot-and-cold trend has extended to Bryce Young. The third-year quarterback broke Cam Newton’s single-game, franchise record with a 448-yard passing game at Atlanta and at times has looked unequivocally like a franchise quarterback, only to produce a few duds that raise questions about what the Panthers have in the No. 1 pick from 2023.
And yet, the Panthers (7-6) — seeking to end a seven-year playoff drought — go into their game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints with a chance to take a full game lead over Tampa Bay atop the NFC South after the Buccaneers (7-7) lost to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.
After an encouraging surge following his benching last season, Young has shown flashes of high-end play but has looked pedestrian in too many games. He’s only gone over 200 yards passing in three of 13 games, but the inconsistency does not fall all on Young. This offense has a serious lack of weapons outside of rookie phenom Tetairoa McMillan and the run game has been inconsistent relative to expectations coming into the season. The Panthers rank 20th in rushing success rate and 22nd in explosive run rate.
After losing Pro Bowl right guard Robert Hunt to a biceps injury in Week 2, the Panthers have used a different offensive line combination in 10 of their 13 games. McMillan is an excellent route runner for a bigger receiver but the rest of the receiving corps has struggled to create separation. The design of the passing game is stagnant with a lot of stop-and-sit type of routes.
“Really it’s been a group thing. It starts up front. When the protection is right and the guys are where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there and he’s on time, the thing works,” said Carolina coach Dave Canales, the offensive play caller. “I’ve seen that chemistry continue to grow throughout this season. And we haven’t had the consistency I would like to see from the entire group and certainly Bryce is a part of that. That’s the challenge we have in front of us and that’s what we have been attacking for weeks now, to find that. We had some really critical downs against the Rams, and we were able to come through because they were all on the same page.”
In the 31-28 victory over the Rams in Week 13 — the Panthers’ biggest win of the season — Young completed 15 of 20 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns, including two on fourth-down plays. Young, who had no interceptions vs. L.A., finished with a 147.1 passer rating that was second only to Newton’s 153.3 (vs. Atlanta in 2015) in team history.
Still, Young’s physical limitations continue to show up on film. He seems to be trying to play inside the pocket more. But even when his passes aren’t being batted, they are being affected when defenders get their hands up. He has to get the ball over defenders often and create space by throwing off his back foot. Naturally, he has very little ability to overcome muddy pockets particularly when the middle of the pocket gets pushed. Defenses seem to try to cage him in with their ends and just have their defensive tackles push and get their hands up. Last year, in the second half of the season, when pressured, he ranked sixth in EPA per dropback. This season, he’s fallen back down to earth, ranking 24th in EPA per dropback when pressured.
Like Canales, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said everyone has a hand in the Panthers’ success or lack of it against pressure.
“As the season goes, you become more comfortable with hot answers, with certain guys in different spots, how they’re gonna win their routes,” Idzik said. “There’s a trust factor that builds as the season goes with the skill positions running the routes, but also the protection unit and the checks that we’re making at the line of scrimmage to make sure that everything’s blocked up correctly.”
Young’s scramble rate has also dropped from 8.2 percent last season to 5 percent this season. He’s still doing a good job of avoiding sacks, which was a huge area of improvement from his rookie season to his second season. This year, he ranks 12th in pressure to sack rate. Unlike other creator-type quarterbacks, the 5-foot-10 Young is smaller in stature so he’s easier to take down and he’s just not as athletic. When he can’t break the pocket, with the way the offense is currently constructed, Young is severely limited.
Week 11 at Atlanta; 1:06 remaining in the third quarter, third-and-6
On this play, the Falcons showed man pressure. The Panthers motioned into a bunch with Xavier Legette running a vertical.
There was confusion with how the Falcons would match the Panthers’ receivers and Legette was wide open.
However, Young felt interior pressure and had to slide to his right and reset.
Even though Young didn’t get heavy pressure, the forced movement from interior pressure zapped his ability to drive the ball downfield. He underthrew the ball and allowed the defensive back to catch up to the pass and bat it down.
Week 12 at San Francisco; 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter, second-and-4
On this play against the 49ers, the Panthers had a curl/flat combination to Young’s right.
Young read the defense correctly and saw there was a window to throw the curl.
The 49ers didn’t get direct pressure on him, but got a body in front of him, which prevented Young from following through on the throw.
Young ended up skipping the ball to Legette and didn’t give him a chance at the catch. For Young, space to step up in the pocket is everything. When there is space, he’s capable of high-quality throws, like the go-ahead, touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Rams.
Week 13 vs. Rams; 6:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, fourth-and-2
Trailing 28-24 and facing a fourth down in Rams’ territory, Canales called an aggressive, deep-crossers play that was part of Seattle’s offense when Canales was an offensive assistant under Pete Carroll. The concept called for Young to show run to try to get the Rams’ linebackers to bite, freeing space for the underneath receivers, which would have allowed the Panthers to pick up the first down.
If the underneath routes were covered, Young could read the deep safety and look for one of his crossers. McMillan, the rookie first-rounder, was lined up to Young’s left.
The Rams showed a loaded box before the snap, then dropped eight in coverage and had the underneath receivers — tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and wideout Jalen Coker — pretty well blanketed. With the safety driving on the crosser run by Legette to Young’s left, Young looked to McMillan, who entered Week 15 leading all rookies in receptions and receiving yards.
With the Rams only rushing three — and with running back Chuba Hubbard helping out right tackle Taylor Moton by chipping on the end — Young had time to go through his progressions.
As Young was throwing, McMillan was still covered but Young threw him open with great touch and ball placement.
“That was a trust throw,” Idzik said. “We say, ‘If he’s on an angle, keep him on the angle with the throw. If the DB looks to undercut, there’s a good chance for a layered ball over the top.’ That’s exactly what Bryce saw as he sat in the pocket.”
Young hit McMillan in stride and he finished in the end zone for the 43-yard touchdown. Idzik said the play exemplified Young’s trust in McMillan, whose pre-draft throwing session with Young in Southern California played a part in the Panthers taking McMillan with the eighth pick.
“It’s NFL ball, right? You take a picture of it and you say nobody’s open. But there’s windows to throw,” Idzik said. “That’s just Bryce’s progression. That’s just Bryce’s trust in T-Mac, knowing you set a line, you keep that line. And then let me put the ball based on where the (defensive back) is. It was a phenomenal play by both those guys.”
The TD pass to McMillan capped Young’s 11th game-winning drive since he entered the league in 2023, the most in the NFL over that span. “His demeanor, his aura when it comes to late drives is contagious. The proof is in the pudding,” McMillan said after the Rams game. “He’s done it 11 times or something. The fact that your leader on offense can do that speaks volumes.”
Tmac and the T is for Touchdown
Tetairoa McMillan x #ProBowlVote
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/fN5tchb342
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 30, 2025
Young is still capable of high-level play. When he has space to step up in the pocket, he has spike games, like his franchise record-setting game against the Falcons. However, he doesn’t have the physical tools to overcome muddy pockets. He’s not the creator he was advertised to be coming out of Alabama. For him to reach the next level, he has to be an ace in the pocket, reading defenses, and sharpening his footwork, which looks sloppy right now. With four games left, he can make a statement by getting the Panthers to the playoffs.
With Carolina set to play meaningful games in December for the first time in Young’s NFL career, he was asked this week if there was a different feeling around the locker room.
“No, it feels like football,” he said. “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 try to play hypotheticals, try to look forward. We have to focus on this week, this game. That’s all that matters.”