How did rookie QB Bryce Young look in the Carolina Panthers’ final preseason game?
Carolina Panther fans now must wait two weeks before they really see how good this team is, when the Panthers open at Atlanta Sept. 10.
But they’re going to have an optimistic fortnight after what Bryce Young and the first-team offense did on a sizzling Friday night in the team’s final exhibition game, against the Detroit Lions in Bank of America Stadium.
Young gave fans permission to dream Friday night. Although the Panthers’ reserves lost an early 10-0 lead and Carolina lost the game 26-17 to fall to 0-3 on the preseason, this was by far Young’s best exhibition game of the three the Panthers played. The same goes for Carolina’s offense.
The Panthers scored 10 points in Young’s two possessions before he retired for the evening, including a 16-yard touchdown strike from Young to Adam Thielen on his final play of the game. Young also showcased more scrambling ability than he has demonstrated in the past month, albeit with one awkward slide after a first-down run that turned into a sitdown/pratfall.
Young finished 7-of-12 for 103 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers, leading the Panthers first to a field goal and then to a TD. His favorite receiver of an injury-riddled group was the veteran Thielen, who not only scored the TD on a sideline route but ended up catching a total of four of Young’s seven completions.
Panthers head coach Frank Reich laughingly said Young needed to “work on his sliding.” Quipped Young: “I never played baseball, so never really learned.... I think we currently have sliding lessons already scheduled.”
Thielen quipped of Young’s slide: “He got a hard time from a lot of guys about that. He’s going to be practicing that in his sleep, in his dreams.”
Reich also called the rookie “sharp and productive.” As for Young notching a TD drive before the regular season started, Reich said it was nice to see but also: “I don’t think it’s do or die. I don’t think it’s life or death... But every little bit helps, right?”
Thielen had a brief injury scare early in the game, with trainers coming out to check on him after he lay flat on his back following a tackle. But he had only had the wind knocked out of him, Reich said, and he quickly returned and scored what was also his first TD in a Panther uniform.
“He pretty much caught the football for me,” Thielen said, referring to Young’s perfect TD pass that almost hit him in the facemask. “So when you have that kind of mix of touch and precision and timing, it’s tough to stop. That’s why he’s here. That’s why he’s the No. 1 pick.”
Young left the game with the Panthers up 10-0, having accounted for eight first downs in those two possessions. He only played the first quarter, but in that time had a number of impressive plays beside the TD throw, which was a thing of beauty. A quartet of others:
▪ A 14-yard pass to fellow rookie Jonathan Mingo over the middle on the first offensive play of the game.
▪ A three-yard scramble on third-and-2 where he got out of a compromised pocket and escaped to the sideline.
▪ A dart to Thielen for 21 yards.
▪ A scramble for 13 yards on third-and-9.
It wasn’t perfect. Young took a coverage sack where he should have thrown the ball away, and he missed a couple of receivers who had a step. But this was certainly his best performance after a mediocre first two games, in which he had five possessions with the Panthers’ first-team offense and accounted for only three points.
Simply put, this was a rookie getting better, and also an offensive line that blocked better. After those two possessions, Reich had seen enough of the No. 1 overall draft pick and subbed in second-string quarterback Andy Dalton (who would throw an end-zone interception).
Later, third-stringer Matt Corral would come in at quarterback for the Panthers. After the first-team offense staked the Panthers to a 10-0 lead, Carolina would then give up 20 straight points, mostly while playing its second- and third-stringers.
The Panthers cut Detroit’s lead to 20-17 on a 4-yard Spencer Brown run in the third quarter in a march led by Corral. Detroit later scored the evening’s final TD on a pick-six interception of fourth-string quarterback Jake Luton by Steven Gilmore, the younger brother of former Panther Stephon Gilmore. (Luton was one of 11 Panther players cut a few hours later, on Saturday).
Most importantly: Reich said he had no serious injuries to report after the game. And Young said he was — and certainly looked — ready for the regular season.
This story was originally published August 25, 2023 at 9:15 PM.
