How Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers are Getting Their Smiles Back

Published: Tuesday, January 14, 2025

by Matthew Nazario

Carolina Panther’s newest head coach, Dave Canales, was given a tough task when it came to steering the team in the right direction heading into the 2024 season, as the Panthers were coming off a disastrous 2-15 season. His decision to bench starting QB Bryce Young before their week three contest against the Raiders was a bold one, with many seeing this as the final nail in the coffin for Young’s career.  

However, whether it was incredible foresight by Canales, pure luck, or Young letting the moment improve himself rather than break him, the choice turned out to be the right one for the team.  

Taking a few weeks to be an understudy to veteran Andy Dalton, Young returned in week eight against the Broncos. While the Panthers would lose 28-14, there was an immense positive to take from this game; Young threw his first passing touchdown of the season.

Fast forwarding to the present, the Panthers are coming off an incredible 44-38 overtime victory over their NFC South nemesis, the Atlanta Falcons, in Bryce Young’s greatest game as a professional thus far. Carolina ended their 2024 campaign at 5-12, and on paper this is far from anything to be impressed by.  

However, thoroughly observing how the Panthers have played over the last few weeks presents plentiful amounts of optimism for Carolina and their fans. There is evident amounts of heart, effort and poise that had been absent in Carolina for years.

In their week 10 win against the New York Giants, the Panthers seemingly turned over a new leaf, going on to have close bouts with some of the league’s best in the following weeks. Carolina were also a few plays away from toppling the Chiefs, Eagles, and Buccaneers, all being one possession games. A team that had not too long ago been annihilated on a weekly basis, began to hang close with some of the NFL’s elite.

At the forefront of this turnaround for Carolina is their young offensive unit beginning to take shape.  

At 25, running back Chuba Hubbard has broken out as one of the NFL’s premier rushers, being sixth in the league in rushing yards (1195) and having 11 touchdowns during his 2024 campaign. Hubbard was able to find a bit of redemption for his costly fumble against Tampa Bay in week 13, with a 165-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Cardinals in week 16. However, this was before being shut down for the season due to a calf injury.  

While they do have their evident growing pains on the occasion, the Panthers wide receiver room is chalk full of potential. Veteran wide receivers Adam Theilen and David Moore have taken the youngsters under their wings, with rookie wide-receivers Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette showing major promise; Moore and Coker had touchdown catches last Sunday.  

In quite a blast from the past, RB Miles Sanders had a busy Sunday afternoon in the absence of Chuba Hubbard, with 126 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Falcons.  

Of course, there is also the former number one pick out of Alabama, QB Bryce Young, who recently has shown flashes of the “Bryce Young” fans fell in love with during his phenomenal college career. Before his incredible week 18 performance, his statistics did not jump off the page at first glance.  

However, there are certain things fans will notice about his recent play which are tremendous improvements compared to his former habits. Young has become an elusive, improvising, and intelligent quarterback who has a much easier time escaping pressure and taking hits than he did previously. He is no longer afraid to deal with punishments that may come when he needs to make big plays.

Young’s week 18 performance was a fitting conclusion to his exponential growth during his sophomore season. He torched the Falcons’ defense with a dazzling 251 passing yards, three passing touchdowns (all to different receivers), and a two rushing-touchdown performance. Young reassured Panther fans everywhere that they have found their quarterback of the future. The frown that covered his face during his rookie season has turned into a smile, a smile of a quarterback who is more confident than ever.

The Panthers’ offensive line has been horrendous in recent years but has taken a slight step up in terms of efficiency and dealing with pressure. After allowing 65 sacks last season, as of this article being written, their current total is less than half that total, with only 36 allowed in 2024.  

Despite some standouts such as the now first time Pro-Bowler Jaycee Horn, Carolina’s defense was abysmal for most of the season, made worse by injuries such as the absence of former Pro-Bowler Derrick Brown. The unit gave up 31.4 points as well as 404.5 yards per game, both last in the NFL. Even when accounting for injuries the defensive side of the football should absolutely be an area of improvement in the offseason.  

While the Panthers still have a bit of a ways to go in terms of contending for the playoffs, it is certainly a welcoming sight to see optimism amongst the franchise and its fans. At this time last season, their stadium was nearly empty, with tickets selling for nearly nothing. Now, it is full of fans excited about the future of their hometown team, and no matter what team you support, it is quite hard to not pop a smile when seeing the ongoing climb of the Carolina Panthers.  

Matthew Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.edu. 

 

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