The Carolina Panthers nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the 2024 NFL campaign on Sunday. Bryce Young’s squad was able to tie the game with 1:49 remaining in regulation but was vanquished by Patrick Mahomes’ club on a last-second field goal.
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Kansas City closed as as 11.5-point road favorites over Carolina. The fact the contest wasn’t decided until the final play wasn’t something most NFL fans saw coming. Following the game, Mahomes credited the Panthers – and Young specifically – for putting up a good fight.
“I thought [Bryce Young] played his tail off… he throws a really good football… [It has] been cool to see him bounce back these last few weeks and play some great football, cause I know he has it… he gave us a scare today.”
Young later spoke on rediscovering his confidence after his stint on the sidelines after getting benched after Week 2 and credited his teammates for helping him through it:
“I’m leaning on my teammates… I think we’ve all kind of come into our own within the system… All of us as a unit I think are [starting to form an identity]… [we] still have a long way to go, a lot of things to clean up [and] a lot of things to get better at… we’re going to keep continuing to work for that.”
Young got benched for poor performance after a Week 2 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers. He made two appearances in mop-up duty in Weeks 7 and 8 before reclaiming the starting role in Week 9. He has also been much better since jumping back into the saddle.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick hasn’t set the world on fire over his last three starts. However, he does have three touchdown passes to one interception in that stretch. Today’s result did bring the Panthers’ brief two-game winning streak to an end, though.
Carolina isn’t looking for moral victories
Earlier in his press conference, Young mentioned maintaining a “growth mindset” each week. This applied not only to himself but to Carolina’s organization as a whole.
Today’s showing versus the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions was clearly a step in the right direction. Despite that reality, neither Young nor head coach Dave Canales are satisfied.
“Coach [Canales] said in the locker room [that] there aren’t moral victories… this is the NFL. At the end of the day, we lost… that stings with everyone… we want to win on Sundays. That’s why we play the games… we all felt like it was close… [but] we gotta keep going. And that’s where it is now.”
The Panthers (3-8) remain in contention for the No. 1 selection of the 2025 NFL Draft with today’s loss. Their remaining slate includes two games with division rival Tampa Bay, road contests at Philadelphia and Atlanta, and home affairs versus Dallas and Arizona.
The schedule isn’t the easiest, but gives Young the ability to prove himself worthy of another season to show he can be the Panthers’ franchise quarterback.
