Bryce Young, Carolina’s starting quarterback, finally showed us the goods on Friday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a stark contrast to his rough preseason debut. After what felt like a total “failure to launch” against the Bills last week, where all three drives ended in brutal three-and-outs, Young looked like a totally different player. The dude came out swinging!
Escaping the Pocket Trap
Let’s be real for a sec: the pass protection for Young? It was still not solid. It’s frustrating to watch him get constantly bombarded out there, right? But get this: even with the pocket collapsing around him again, Young wasn’t fazed. He came out looking confident and aggressive, making clutch plays and extending for positive gains multiple times. Remember that first drive? It started out super promising. Young rolled out, staring down a pass rusher coming at him, and instead of panicking, he pulled off this sick hesitation move, side-stepping the guy! Then, boom! He delivered a dart to Tommy Tremble for a 5-yard gain. That’s big-time playmaking. A pass interference call on Tetairoa McMillan even got them to midfield. But just like last week, the run blocking totally broke down, forcing Young into a third-and-long where he had to throw it away to avoid a sack. Still, that individual flash of brilliance? That was something special.
Moving the Chains and Punching It In
Young wasn’t done showing out, though. His second drive? He came out firing. You could see him moving his feet so well in the pocket, ducking and weaving to avoid those pressures, always making the right decisions to keep those chains moving. He hit Tremble, Jalen Coker, and McMillan a couple times for some nice gains that just kept chipping away, driving them right down the field to the goal line. And then, the moment! The Panthers punched it in with a 1-yard run by Jonathon Brooks! That’s exactly what you want to see your guy orchestrate! Young’s night ended right there, replaced by backup Kenny Pickett on the very next drive. He finished with five completions on six throws for 49 yards and a sweet 100.7 passer rating. Sure, it was against a second-string defense, and yeah, we don’t usually hand out official grades for preseason, but if we had to, that’s a definite “A” performance for his brief time on the field.
That’s the kind of playmaking Young needs to bring every week. What’s at stake for him now is building on this surging confidence and showing he can consistently make these critical plays, even when the protection isn’t there. We’re totally looking forward to seeing him out there again, stacking up these “A” performances as the season gets closer.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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