Panthers QB Young reflects on film from breakout game, several starters miss practice
Bryce Young has watched the film of his 312-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers.
And while the rookie quarterback was encouraged by the offense’s performance in Week 16, he isn’t letting the team’s first 30-point outing of the season get to his head. After all, the Panthers still lost to the Packers and dropped to 2-13 on the season.
The Panthers didn’t have enough time to mount a second fourth-quarter comeback at Bank of America Stadium in a 33-30 loss. For Young and company, there’s a lesson to be learned in that failure.
“Just want to start faster — we’ve talked about that as a team,” Young said Wednesday. “Definitely myself, watching film, not wasting throws, not wasting possessions. I think we got to a point where it came down to seconds, so every throw, every possession, every piece of yardage all matters. Trying to start faster, and clean that up.”
Still, Young and the Panthers’ offense finally broke out for a big performance as the season winds down. The group put up 394 net yards and scored multiple touchdowns for the first time since Week 6.
It was a morale boost for a unit that has slogged since the preseason — a bumpy road which cost former head coach Frank Reich his job after just 11 games.
“Just as a unit, we started to hit our stride a little, which was obviously very encouraging,” Young said. “It’s good to kind of see the little things, little details that went into that. So, it was good to reflect on, and then now, it’s another week where we have to earn the right to replicate those good things that we did, and then learn from the stuff that we still need to work on.”
Young put together a career-best performance against the Packers, just one week after leading a game-winning drive against the Atlanta Falcons. From the outside looking in, Young has looked comfortable and in control of the offense for the first time in his NFL career over the past five quarters.
Young led five scoring drives and had an impressive 110.0 passer rating against Green Bay. The performance was a big step forward from his early — and even midseason — struggles.
But the rookie, to his credit, understands that while he was a Heisman-trophy winner in college, he’s still getting adjusted to the NFL game.
“I think, for me, I’ve just tried to be a work in progress,” Young said. “Trying to continue to grow. I think the comfort just comes from more experience, more games under my belt — more time together. I think that’s really where the comfort stems from.”
The Panthers will travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars on Sunday.
Jacksonville has lost four consecutive games and starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence is battling a shoulder injury. But the Jaguars still have a ton on the line. The reigning AFC South champions are hoping to a repeat, and the only way to assure that possibility is to beat Carolina.
But the Panthers have seen what they are capable of on offense, and they don’t seem like the easy out that they were just a few weeks ago.
“We got a taste of it — it’s great — but it doesn’t entitle us to anything this week,” Young said. “And now that we have that taste in our mouth, we want to make sure that we can grow.”
Injury report: Ekwonu, Horn and Luvu miss practice
The Panthers held Wednesday’s practice without a handful of notable names.
Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (foot), linebacker Frankie Luvu (quad) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (toe) were all sidelined with new injuries. Nickel cornerback Troy Hill (concussion) and pass rusher Marquis Haynes (back), who also sustained new injuries against Green Bay, were also absent.
Wideout Adam Thielen and right tackle Taylor Moton were given their weekly veteran rest days.
Other notable names on the injury list were running back Chuba Hubbard (hamstring) and cornerback Donte Jackson (ankle), who were limited participants.
Did not participate: CB Troy Hill (concussion), CB Jaycee Horn (toe), LB Frankie Luvu (quad), OT Ikem Ekwonu (foot), OT Taylor Moton (rest/knee), OLB Marquis Haynes (back), WR Adam Thielen (rest).
Limited participation: RB Chuba Hubbard (hamstring), CB Donte Jackson (ankle), LB Claudin Cherelus (IR - knee).
Full participation: TE Stephen Sullivan (wrist), TE Tommy Tremble (back), RB Miles Sanders (toe), G Cade Mays (ankle).
Quick hits
▪ Prior to practice, the Panthers placed pass rusher Amare Barno (knee) on injured reserve. They also activated running back Tarik Cohen (hamstring) to the practice squad after he spent multiple weeks on practice squad injured reserve.
▪ The Packers suspended cornerback Jaire Alexander for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. Alexander, who went to Rocky River High School in Mint Hill, walked out to midfield for the coin toss against the Panthers on Sunday, despite not being a captain, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Alexander told Green Bay reporters that he went out to the coin toss because he was from the area, and that head coach Matt LaFleur was likely unaware of that connection when picking captains.
▪ If Lawrence (shoulder) is unable to play for the Jaguars on Sunday, Jacksonville would start C.J. Beathard at quarterback. Beathard has a career completion percentage of 59.9%. He has thrown for 3,708 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 31 career games (12 starts).
▪ The Panthers rank first in the league in kickoff return average. The 27.2 yards per attempt mark is shared between Laviska Shenault and Raheem Blackshear. The latter leads the league in kickoff return average (27.9) among players with at least 10 return attempts.
▪ Thielen enters Week 17 on the cusp of a special milestone. Thielen has 95 catches for 964 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He needs five catches and 36 yards over the next two games to have the second 100-catch/1,000-receiving yard season of his career. He last accomplished the feat in 2018 when he collected 113 catches for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings. He made his second Pro Bowl that season.
