There are times where winning a football game is a secondary achievement. A footnote to a larger, more important goal. On a relatively-empty Sunday afternoon slate, with the most eyes on him in weeks — Bryce Young delivered for the Carolina Panthers, cementing himself as the future of the franchise in a way that had been largely up in the air until this point.
The “why” of the Panthers lost in overtime is a very simple calculus. Normally accurate kicker Eddie Pineiro missed two kicks, and normally reliable running back Chuba Hubbard fumbled in overtime to set the table for a Buccaneers win. The fact Carolina was even in the game in the first place was largely because of Young, who gave the best performance of his career — solidifying him both as the starting quarterback of the Panthers, and showing why he was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Bryce Young is officially a franchise quarterback, and the monkey is off his back.
The box score tells part of the story: 26-for-46, 298 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT — 3 carries for 17 yards, and another touchdown.
Where Young really shined is the moments that leap off the film. Checking at the line of scrimmage, altering the protections based on exotic blitz packages, making small movements inside the pocket to throw off pursuit angles and alter the pass rushing. When it came to throwing the ball Young was on target, threw with anticipation, and routinely showed off his underrated athleticism to make plays with his legs, or open up throws on the run.
This all came together on one crucial play with 36 seconds left on the clock.
At this point the Panthers are out of time outs. Young knows the only way to win is a touchdown. Anthony Nelson blows by RT Taylor Moton to pressure from the edge, while Vita Vea wins his battle in the middle to collapse the middle. Oftentimes you’ll see a young quarterback flush to the weakside on this play, running away from the pressure. At this point his options are severely limited: Try to make a play with his legs, make an ill-advised cross-body throw, take a coverage sack, or throw the ball away.
Instead, Bryce climbed the pocket, kept his eyes downfield, and delivered a touchdown strike to Adam Thielen, which should have won the game if not for some bad defensive miscues by Carolina on the ensuing drive.
Bryce Young wasn’t perfect. There were definitely a few passes he lofted, a few plays that went awry — but when you take in the totality of the Carolina offense still lacking players due to injury, Young was impressive beyond anything he should have been capable of. In a few short weeks we’ve gone from talking about Young being a colossal bust, to stepping up and giving the Panthers hope.
As for the “why” it took being benched for Young to take a massive step forward, that much isn’t entirely clear — at least not publicly. There’s been a lot of discussion about how the team rallied around Young, how he took more ownership of his mistakes, and came out the other side being the unequivocal leader of the team. On the field we’re seeing the distributor, point guard-esque abilities that made him a top draft pick, routinely putting the ball where only his receivers can get it, reading defenses, and routinely turning nothing into big plays.
The next step is for the Panthers to get healthy, and become more consistent. Their Red Zone offense remains a mess without a complete receiving corps that doesn’t need ot lean on rookies — while the run/pass balance of the Carolina offense is still a work in progress. These are future tasks for the organization, because their biggest question has been answered.
Carolina has its franchise quarterback. There’s so much to look forward to for fans now.
Winner: The Patriots for having Drake Maye land in their laps
I don’t care that New England lost this game by one point to the Colts when the Pats’ kicker missed two field goals. It doesn’t change the basic, fundamental reality that Drake Maye is an absolute stud and this team has its franchise quarterback as well.
There were no shortage of people who thought Maye was QB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft (myself included), and honestly he’s playing like it — albeit without much fanfare. It has to be appreciated that the Patriots are still an offensive mess. Outside of running back Rhamondre Stevenson they don’t really have a true weapon, with the receivers still being a work in progress and the offensive line one of the worst in the league.
Yet, despite all this Maye is thriving. He’s showing phenomenal command of NFL offensive concepts and keeping New England in games they otherwise have no business contending in. On Sunday he generated 297 yards of all-purpose offense, completing 80 percent of his passes, and generally being the nexus of the offense.
The future is so bright at quarterback for the Pats, and that’s not something every team with a young QB can say.
Loser: Kirk Cousins and the Falcons’ hopes
We might as well put a fork in Atlanta, because they’re cooked and Cousins is their turkey. A four interception day sealed the Falcons’ fate against the Chargers, but was far more endemic of the issues this team is having with its passing offense.
Atlanta’s defense held Justin Herbert to 147 yards. It did its job. The Chargers running game never got going. Again, the defense did its job. Bijan Robinson ran for over 100 yards. He did his job.
Kirk Cousins did not.
This is a case where the weakness of the NFC South is a profound detriment. There’s a very sound case to be made for the 6-6 Falcons to accept what they are, play Michael Penix Jr. to close out the year, and at least get a sense of what they can be in the future. The Buccaneers hold the keys to the division right now with their soft schedule, and a one-and-done playoff run for Atlanta wasn’t the goal this season.
It’s just gone bad, and there’s nothing they can do.
Winner: Josh Allen
Cement yourself as the frontrunner for MVP, beat the 49ers, get engaged to Hailee Steinfeld. Pretty solid week all things considered.
