Why ‘confident and comfortable’ Bryce Young gives Carolina Panthers’ offense hope in 2025
As national and local pundits and highly vocal fans looked to bury Bryce Young’s career following a Week 3 benching, the 5-foot-10 quarterback that social media has playfully dubbed the “Carolina Reaper” was sharpening his scythe behind the scenes.
The second-year Carolina Panthers QB was breaking down film, working with the scout team, and taking in mental reps on the sideline as veteran backup Andy Dalton got his turn with the offense. That’s where the origin of Young’s early career turnaround took place.
Following a minor car accident in Charlotte, Dalton was sidelined with a thumb injury, and Young returned to the starting lineup. He knocked off a quartet of NFC rivals over a span of 10 games, leaving flailing coaches and players in his wake as his “Carolina Reaper” nickname gathered online momentum.
There were memes and debates about the name. Young declined to publicly embrace it after Dennis Allen was fired by the New Orleans Saints and QB Daniel Jones was benched by the New York Giants in the midst of the Panthers’ only two-game winning streak of the season. But teammates, young and old, joked about the moniker, as Young went from looking like a clear bust to a once-again promising passer (and runner).
And while the nickname has caught fire for its spiciness — similar to the pepper it draws its inspiration from — Young’s play down the stretch of his second season was arguably hotter. Through the final 10 games of the season, he threw for 15 passing touchdowns and ran for five more scores, all while protecting the ball. Young had three interceptions in the first two games of the season before his Week 3 benching, but had only six interceptions in the 10 starts to close out the season.
“I think what stood out about him was he always looked like he was comfortable and poised, regardless of the situation during the game,” said cornerback Garrett Williams, who played 42 defensive snaps for the Arizona Cardinals in the Panthers’ 36-30 overtime win in Week 16.
Williams isn’t the only opponent who noticed Young’s confidence and control of the offense in the second half of the season. The Panthers’ offense opened up significantly down the stretch because of how Young made a complete reversal in his play from Week 8 onward.
As Young became an improvisational standout, the Carolina offense became more potent.
A 44-point performance in an overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons served as a conclusion for the campaign. And while the best performance of the 2024 season came in the first week of 2025, the hope is that Young’s five-touchdown performance against the Falcons will set a new, more dynamic standard for the offense heading into Year 2 of the Dave Canales era.
The terrific turnaround
Young put up objectively brutal numbers in the first two starts of the season. His Week 3 benching came after the offense just couldn’t function with him under center. It became evident with an 84-yard, one-interception performance in a 26-3 blowout home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.
Young was out. Dalton was in.
Dalton immediately led the Panthers to their first win of the season, earning a 36-22 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on the road.
It was the Panthers’ first road win since the final game of the 2022 campaign, so it appeared that Young’s benching had been justified. However, Dalton received four more starts, and the Panthers went 0-4 during that stretch, even as Canales claimed the veteran QB gave the Panthers the best chance to win.
A car accident — involving Dalton, his wife and his children — on a Tuesday afternoon in late October essentially changed the trajectory of the season. Canales had already called Dalton the Week 8 starter the day before the accident, but he was pressed to put Young in the starting lineup after the vet injured his throwing thumb.
Young’s performance, outside of a couple of strong offensive drives, was largely forgettable in a 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos on the road. While he threw for 224 yards and a couple of touchdowns, he also had two interceptions against Denver.
But with Dalton still nursing an ailing digit on his throwing hand, Young got another start against New Orleans in Week 9, and that’s when the “Carolina Reaper” moniker started to gain steam. Young completed 16 of 26 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown in a 23-22 win that ultimately led to the dismissal of Allen, then the Saints’ head coach.
The next week in Munich, Germany, Young threw for 126 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 overtime win against the New York Giants to produce the Panthers’ only two-game winning streak of the season. Jones, a Charlotte native, was benched and ultimately released a few weeks later.
Young had come alive, and it became impossible turn back to Dalton down the stretch.
“He looks more confident and comfortable playing from within the pocket,” said an NFC evaluator, whose team played against Young and the Panthers in both 2023 and 2024. “Last year, he was very jittery.”
Young continued to spray the ball all around the field following the bye week. From Week 8 onward, Young made regular impressive, highlight-worthy throws.
Pro Football Focus collects a stat called “Big Time Throws,” and Young made 26 of those tosses following his Week 8 return compared to zero in his first two starts. PFF defines “Big Time Throws” as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”
Those types of the passes became Young’s calling card down the stretch. He was also extremely accurate, even as he dealt with regular drops.
Young battled through 15 drops, with at least one per game, during his final 10 starts. He was also forced to throw the ball away — typically the right call against good coverage — 28 times in those games.
Still, with an adjusted passing percentage from PFF, which takes into account drops and throwaways, Young had a 70% or more mark in eight of his final 10 starts. His adjusted completion percentage never dropped below 62% down the stretch.
That blend of accuracy and deep-ball prowess impressed rival squads. A defensive assistant coach from a team that played the Panthers during the final stretch noted the importance of Young’s apparent confidence in the system.
“I thought (Young) just got comfortable in time within the system,” the coach told The Observer. “I didn’t see massive changes by the coaches or players — I saw a guy that just had time on task and a staff that best understood how to complement their players’ strengths and protect their weaknesses.”
Where the bones are buried
The Panthers won two of their final three games in dramatic fashion. The Panthers became constant tenants of the overtime period during Canales’ first season as head coach. But luckily for Carolina, Young was able to lead game-winning drives in three of four extra periods during the final eight games of the season.
Young’s poise, patience and ability to strike downfield helped the offense thrive in the clutch. Those intangibles also helped open up the offense.
With Young displaying a strong ability to scramble in his second act, the Panthers’ “shot” plays against man coverage became deadlier. If defenders wrapped up the Panthers’ playmakers in coverage, Young would take off for a positive gain. He ran for 225 yards and five touchdowns down the stretch, bailing out the passing plays to create positive gains and points.
“You don’t have to have a perfect play call when a guy is playing with confidence and is getting the ball out,” offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said in Atlanta following the season finale win over the Falcons. “So, we have our guys, he knows where the bones are buried in these plays, so he can get through his progression and know, ‘OK, I’ve got help over here, I’ve got help over here, and then I can run.’”
Young had eight carries of 10 or more yards during the final stretch of the season. All eight runs came off scrambles.
While Young will never be confused for Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen as a runner, only Hurts and Allen had more rushing touchdowns this season than the Panthers QB. Young, who scored on the ground twice against Atlanta in Week 18, had as many rushing touchdowns on the season as Taysom Hill, Anthony Richardson and Jayden Daniels, all known for their dual-threat nature, and are certainly more prolific runners than the Panthers’ signal caller.
But when Young is lighting up the sky with deep throws, the running lanes are opening up and the Panthers QB is taking advantage.
“I think it’s just the fact that everybody’s got to now respect it,” Idzik said of Young’s dual-threat ability. “Before, when you’re trying to figure out what the coaches are trying to accomplish with a pass play, going from one to two to three to four, and then when things slow down for you, you get through that faster and then you’re the last check down.”
Canales said after the season finale that Young is the Panthers QB heading into the 2025 offseason. With that in mind, Canales and Idzik can take what they learned from Young’s play down the stretch and adapt their playbook accordingly.
The enhanced scrambling ability displayed by Young — and really, the reputation that comes along with it — should create opportunities for the play callers to make adjustments to their deep-ball scheming, and perhaps add to their passing approach. They can also design runs that take advantage of Young’s improved downfield passing prowess.
From there, the Panthers can reap — pun intended — the rewards in 2025.
