Bryce Young experiences victory formation for the first time in the NFL

For the first time in his NFL career, quarterback Bryce Young was able to prevent the Carolina Panthers from winning on Sunday.

“It's a great feeling,” Young said after the Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints 23-22 in an NFC South rivalry game by scoring a touchdown with 2:18 to play.

The No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, Young was a winner in two of his 16 starts as a rookie and in each win – 15-13 over the Houston Texans on October 29, 2023 and 9-7 over the Atlanta Falcons on December 17, 2023 – Eddy Pineiro kicked a field goal on the final snap to give the Panthers the winning points.

On Sunday, the Carolina defense stopped New Orleans' final possession on downs at the Saints' 46-yard line with 64 seconds left, giving the former Alabama All-American the opportunity to end the game with two knee downs.

The Panthers were down 22-17 when they gained possession at their 36-yard line with 3:26 to play. Young hit a third-down pass to wide receiver Xavier Legette for a 26-yard gain, and a 22-yard defensive pass interference penalty on the next snap moved Carolina to New Orleans' 16. Running back Chuba Hubbard covered that distance to the goal line to give Carolina a one-point lead.

“Where else would you rather be?” Young said of his attitude as he took the field for the game-winning series. “That’s all you could ask for – to have the chance to take the lead on a ride. That’s what we play for, that’s what we work for.”

The Saints lost despite outscoring the Panthers by 427 yards to 246 and not having a turnover. New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr was back in the lineup after a three-game injury absence and completed 18 of 31 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. Carr's 13 third-down passes resulted in four first downs and a touchdown.

Young completed 16 of 26 passes for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He completed 7 of 8 third-down passes for 71 yards and four first downs.

The interception came when cornerback Shemar took the football away from Jean-Charles Legette after the Carolina wide receiver caught the pass with 9:14 to play.

“He stood out in some key moments,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said of Young, “and gave us a chance a couple of times.” Once again, just proud of the step he took. It’s a big step to do everything we ask of him and get us to the right plays at the right time.”

For the second straight game, Legette caught a touchdown pass from Young. Their 3-yard connection capped a 45-yard drive as the Panthers took a 7-6 lead with 9:59 left in the first half.

Carolina's middling touchdown drive to start the second half went 86 yards. It included Young's longest completion of the season – a 46-yard connection with tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders – on the second snap of the third quarter. Hubbard's 1-yard touchdown run gave the Panthers a 17-13 lead with 9:59 left in the third quarter.

Young began his second NFL season as he finished his first – as Carolina's No. 1 quarterback. But after the Panthers lost their first two games, including a 47-10 season-opening setback against the Saints, Carolina coach Dave pulled out Canales Young for veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton started five games before suffering a thumb injury in a car accident.

That meant Young was back in the starting lineup for a 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos a week ago. In that game, Young completed 24 of 37 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

After Sunday's win, Canales said “not yet” when asked if he would be willing to name Young as the starter for Carolina's next game.

“We will take all information,” Canales said. “Watch the movie. We have a process. We need to make sure we look at all of these things.”

The Panthers ended a five-game losing streak on Sunday and increased their record to 2-7.

“More than anything, I’m happy for the guys in this locker room,” Young said. “They work so hard and us coming out on top like that was huge for us, so it’s something we can build on.”

Carolina plays the New York Giants on November 10th at 8:30 a.m. CST at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The Saints went 2-7 with their seventh straight loss.