Panthers QB report card: Bryce Young crumbles against Colts in embarrassing Week 9 loss
It was like the air had been sucked out of Bank of America Stadium.
Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young, his teammates and the Carolina faithful — at least the ones who decided to stick around into the fourth quarter — were forced to watch as Indianapolis Colts safety Kenny Moore streaked to the end zone for his second pick-6 of the afternoon. Unlike Moore’s first interception for a touchdown against Young in the second quarter, the second pick-6 at the start of the fourth quarter was essentially a game-ender, which quieted the home crowd for the remainder of Carolina’s 27-13 loss to the Colts.
Young was coming off his most impressive performance of the season in a Week 8 win against the Houston Texans. But Sunday, against the Colts, he put forth the ugliest showing of his short professional career.
Young’s decision-making was poor. His accuracy was inconsistent. And his overall ability to lead the offense was shaky at best.
The rookie handed 14 points to the opposing defense in a 14-point game. Young wasn’t the only letdown performer against the Colts, but his blunders cost the Panthers mightily in a game that felt winnable on paper. The Colts’ defense had allowed 38 points per game during a three-game losing streak coming into the contest, and not only did Indianapolis hold Carolina to 13 points, the unit also scored twice off of momentum-killing turnovers.
In what should have been an excellent opportunity for the Panthers to build momentum and show up head coach Frank Reich’s former team at home, Young — the face of the franchise — crumbled against the worst scoring defense in the NFL, which simply outsmarted and overmatched him in basically every category.
On the same day that No. 2 overall pick, Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns in a spectacular comeback win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Young faltered to the point of legitimate embarrassment. While Young outperformed Stroud in their head-to-head meeting one week earlier, few — especially nationally — will remember that blip on the radar, especially as Young and the Panthers, at 1-7, have tied the franchise’s worst start through eight games of a season.
Here is how Young graded out in the Week 9 loss:
Young’s stats vs. Indianapolis
Young completed 24 of 39 passes (61.5%) for 173 passing yards, a touchdown and three interceptions (including two pick-6s).
Young finished with an abysmal 48.3 passer rating. He averaged just 4.4 yards per pass attempt.
Young’s spreading the ball grade
Young’s early offerings left a lot to be desired. While the rookie quarterback targeted eight weapons on his first six drives of the game, he only connected on 7 of 14 pass attempts for 35 yards and an interception — a pick-6 — in the first half.
Young led a 15-play, 77-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. He connected with a handful of weapons during the scoring series, and kept his eyes down the field. He ended up completing five of six passes on the drive for 41 yards and a touchdown pass.
Adam Thielen was Young’s top target on the afternoon. The veteran wideout caught five of six targets for 29 yards. Tight end Hayden Hurst was also was targeted fairly regularly, collecting two catches on four targets for a team-leading 54 yards.
Despite the targeting of several players, Young’s 4.4 yards per attempt knocks down his distributing grade. He only connected on three passes of more than 10 yards.
Grade: C-
Young’s accuracy/decision-making grade
Young had a tough outing in the first half. While he spread the ball around, there were quite a few misfires. He was repeatedly pressured and threw off his back foot a few times. Young connected on just 50 percent of his passes in the first half, and only picked up 35 passing yards, while taking three sacks for a loss of 27 yards. The Panthers’ pass game only produced 8 net yards in the first two quarters.
While Young looked inaccurate at times, he also wasn’t helped by his receivers. Tight end Stephen Sullivan, who was targeted three times in the first half, failed to attack the ball on an inaccurate throw that could have been salvaged for a short catch. Running back Miles Sanders also dropped a wide-open pass in the red zone that could have pushed the Panthers within the 10-yard line and gained a first down. Instead, the Panthers eventually settled for a field goal for their first points.
Young later tossed a brutal pick-6 to Moore on a throw meant for running back Chuba Hubbard. Young didn’t see Moore as he tossed a ball in front of Hubbard. Moore returned the ball for 49 yards to the end zone.
Young bounced back a bit in the second half, leading a long scoring drive on his first series of the third quarter. While the play-calling leaned heavily on the run game, Young made a pair of huge throws to keep the drive alive. He connected with tight end Tommy Tremble on a fourth-down conversion in the red zone. Three plays later, he hit wideout DJ Chark for a touchdown with a throw on the run.
Young overshot Sanders on a toss to the flat and Moore produced his second pick-6 of the game. It was a crushing blow for Young, who had just thrown a 48-yard pass to Hurst to get the Panthers in field-goal range. The second pick-6 essentially ended the game. Moore returned the ball 66 yards to pay dirt.
Grade: F
Young’s mobility grade
Young showed off his mobility and toughness on a 5-yard scramble during the first series of the game. On third-and-6, following a false start by center Bradley Bozeman, Young took off and lowered his shoulder into Moore, short of the first-down marker. While it wasn’t a successful conversion, Young showed rare aggressiveness as a runner.
Later in the first half, Young picked up a first down on a scramble on third-and-5, juking a defender and diving forward in the process. The conversion eventually set up a 35-yard field goal for the first Carolina points of the game.
Young finished with 41 yards on five carries.
Grade: B
Young’s turnover grade
Young threw the first pick-6 of his career while trying to finish off a somewhat promising drive to end the first half. Young attempted to toss a ball to Hubbard in the flat and Moore read the play all the way.
Moore jumped the route, collected the ball and streaked 49 yards toward the end zone for a touchdown. It was a bad read and a bad throw by Young, who had been building some momentum with quick hits through the early stages of the series. His big mistake led to a turnover and seven points.
History repeated itself in the fourth quarter, as Young again targeted a running back in the flat — this time, it was Sanders — and Moore caught a poorly thrown ball for a pick-6 of 66 yards. Young gave 14 points to the defense by himself.
In garbage time, Young threw a third interception. He targeted Hurst over the middle, but overthrew him, and the ball went straight to linebacker Segun Olubi. It was the first three-interception game of Young’s career.
Grade: F
Young’s overall grade
Young had a pathetic outing on Sunday. There’s no other way to categorize the rookie’s performance.
He was inaccurate, made bad decisions and tossed turnovers that led to two touchdowns for the opposing defense. In a game where the Panthers’ defense held the Colts’ offense to 13 points, Young’s turnovers were game-altering blunders that allowed the Colts to get out of Charlotte with a blowout win.
This loss is clearly on Young and the offense. The line failed to protect Young regularly, the quarterback made several poor plays and the play-calling of offensive coordinator Thomas Brown offered a lack of the opportunity for regular explosive plays.
For those searching for silver linings, this loss can be a lesson for the young quarterback, his offense and the coaching staff. The Panthers also won’t be able to dwell on this letdown for very long as they prepare for a quick turnaround matchup with the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
OVERALL GRADE: D-
This story was originally published November 5, 2023 at 7:34 PM.
