QB Bryce Young leads Panthers to victory, Week 10 status uncertain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young spoke about futility with unusual confidence for a player on the fringes of NFL history as he returned with 3:26 minutes left Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in the group entered.

“He said, ‘Let’s get this win! Why can't it be us?'” said wide receiver David Moore after the 23-22 victory over the New Orleans Saints, which gave Young his first game-winning touchdown drive in the NFL.

But as solid as Young was in helping Carolina (2-7) to its first home game in 322 days, coach Dave Canales wasn't ready to commit to the top pick of the 2023 draft for Sunday's game against Andy Dalton his regular team remains the New York Giants in Munich, Germany.

“He stood out in some crucial moments and gave us a chance a few times,” Canales said of Young. “Just proud of the step he's taken again.” He's taken on everything we asked of him and brought us to the right place at the right time.

“So, a great step. We will take all the information and watch the film. We have a process. We need to make sure we look at all of these things.”

The win prevented Young, 3-17 in his career and 1-3 this season, from becoming the third quarterback since starts were first recorded in 1950 to lose 18 of his first 20 starts. He avoided joining San Francisco's Steve DeBerg (1978-79) and Carolina's Chris Weinke (2001-2007).

His teammates viewed Sunday as something of a coming out moment, even if Canales wasn't ready to make a snap judgment about the future.

“This cat has been through so much,” said guard Robert Hunt. “But I saw the fire in him.” He can keep up now. I like the way he competes. He will bring everything back. He's young, man. He is a competitor. And today he did really well.”

Young said it felt great to be on the field for the first time in the NFL and take a knee for a win. His only two wins last season came courtesy of Eddy Pineiro's last-second field goals while on the sideline.

Whether he starts against the Giants will be up to the coaching staff. His plan was to celebrate with family and friends a much-needed win for a team hoping to avoid a seventh straight losing season.

As for the last time he engineered a game-winning touchdown drive, Young said someone would have to Google that.

What is known for certain, according to ESPN Research, is that Young had not had one in the NFL or at Alabama before completing the 64-yard drive capped by Chuba Hubbard's 16-yard run with 2:18 remaining .

Young led his high school, Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California, to a 28-24 victory over IMB Academy of Bradenton, Florida, during his junior year in 2018. Young covered the final 5 yards alone with 1:09 left.

Young's heroics against the Saints (2-7), who beat Carolina 47-10 in Week 1, came on third-and-10 from his own 36-yard line when he threw a pass over the middle to rookie wide- Receiver Xavier Legette drilled a 26-yard gain.

He followed with a pass over the middle to rookie tight end JT Sanders, which resulted in a pass interference penalty on the 16th.

From there, Hubbard did the rest, darting down the right side to tie the score.

Young's final stat line – 16 of 26 for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception – wasn't particularly impressive.

But his interception came on a play that wide receiver Xavier Legette admitted he should have made, and his touchdown was a perfectly thrown pass to Legette on second-and-goal from the 3 in the second quarter.

Hubbard called it a big win for Young, who was benched after an 0-2 start but got the job back three games ago after Dalton was in a minor car accident in which he sprained his thumb.

Dalton was healthy enough to play Sunday, but Canales stuck with Young, although he always said the 36-year-old Dalton gave him the best chance to win.

“Just all the adversity he had to deal with,” Hubbard said of Young. “I said he handled it really great from day one and just kept working. “He deserves to get this and play as well as he did.”

Young did have a moment on Sunday where he seemed frustrated with Canales' conservative play, but both dismissed it as no big deal.

“I’m competitive,” Young said. “All the competitors, in every drive where we don't score, of course we're all frustrated about that.” But there's a balance. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Canales.”

Young tried to put Sunday's win into perspective in terms of what it could mean for the future, but he smiled more in his postgame news conference than he has in a long time.

“We will address it in due course,” Young said of whether he will run next week. “You give yourself a little grace to enjoy (this). There's little time to just celebrate.” “I have family here, so we'll probably get something to eat.”