It was just one series against the Buffalo Bills' backup, but it was enough to suggest that Carolina Panthers second-year quarterback Bryce Young is headed in the right direction after a historically bad rookie season.
Young completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, an 8-yarder over the middle to converted tight end Jordan Matthews, in Saturday's 31-26 win over the Bills at Highmark Stadium.
It was Young's first and only appearance in a preseason game, one that first-year head coach Dave Canales felt was strong enough to greet the top pick in the 2023 draft with a “day from hell” when Young walked into the locker room.
Canales later said the former Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama looked “smart” on the 12-play, 85-yard drive.
“I couldn't have dreamed it better,” Canales said. “It was a fourth-down conversion, but I saw him extending plays with his legs, keeping his eyes down the field, finding guys.”
The fourth-down play in particular showed how Young has developed under Canales, who in 2023 helped Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield have a career season and before that helped Geno Smith and Russell Wilson have career seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
It was fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 46-yard line when Young took the shotgun snap from rookie center Andrew Raym, who was forced into a starting role because Austin Corbett was back in Charlotte for the delivery of his son, Cooper John Corbett (10 pounds, 4 ounces).
Young made his first few progressions, then saw the pressure coming, so the right-hander began to drift to his left. He dodged a tackler and threw a cross-field pass to former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, his favorite target during training camp, for a 17-yard gain.
“Balance, keeping an eye on the field, that aggressive nature but being able to do it within the confines of what is the smartest thing to do in this situation,” Canales said.
Young followed with a 21-yard completion to veteran receiver Adam Thielen.
Two incomplete passes later, on third-and-goal from the 8, Young stepped up in the pocket and found Matthews, a former wide receiver, wide open over the middle for the touchdown.
Young's 140.6 passer rating, albeit against reservations, was a positive sign after he had the worst rating (73.3) in the NFL a year ago, ranking ahead of only one quarterback in QBR at 33.4, and threw 11 touchdown passes, tied for the fewest of any quarterback in a season with at least 500 attempts in league history.
“It was a great feeling for all of us to go out and play against a different team,” Young said. “We had to deal with a couple of different situations, which was great for us.”
Young's offense illustrated many of the reasons why Canales' offense is a good fit for him. It started with a trick pass where he reversed his field and hit Matthews for 8 yards.
He followed that up with a 13-yard pass to rookie tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders.
Canales relied on the ground game for three straight carries to take pressure off the passing game. Young was sacked on the next play, but it was for zero yards because the 5-foot-10 quarterback was able to avoid two defenders and a much bigger loss.
That set the stage for the fourth play that played a big role in Young having Canales' “amazing day.”
Young's play and the performance of an offense that was among the NFL's worst a year ago was a microcosm of what Canales has liked in practice.
“You can see people creating spaces to play after the play, from practice to the game,” Canales said. “Those are things that are critical to us.”
