Two drives and 10 points later, Bryce Young is taking some much-needed momentum into his rookie season.
Young, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, guided the Carolina Panthers on a pair of scoring drives and threw his first preseason touchdown pass in Friday’s preseason finale against the visiting Detroit Lions.
Having been hounded by opposing pass rushers feasting on a leaky Panthers offensive line in the previous two preseason outings, Young turned in easily his best showing so far on Friday. He looked in command piloting the Panthers, finishing 7 of 12 for 73 yards and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen over two series' of work. Just as impressive as he was throwing the ball, Young was splendid on the ground, scrambling for 21 yards on three carries.
"I think he was sharp and productive and made plays," Panthers head coach Frank Reich said. "And showed even more playmaking ability -- with his feet, the throw for the touchdown."
Young looked comfortable in the shotgun, where he was aligned for 75% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, but was also 3 for 3 under center. Pressure has been the Panthers' biggest cause for concern throughout the preseason, and Young was sacked once when James Houston beat Ikem Ekwonu around the edge. However, Young did have room to step up into the pocket and a window to get the ball off sooner. Nonetheless, he was pressured 23% of the time -- which was an improvement from a woeful 43% showing the week prior against the New York Giants.
Young got going on the first play from scrimmage, hitting fellow rookie Jonathan Mingo on a crosser for 14 yards.
It was Thielen who Young looked for and found the most, though. The QB targeted the former Minnesota Vikings standout five times in the game, completing four passes for 48 yards.
Young hit on his first four passes, but then misfired on his following four attempts, leading to the Panthers settling for a field goal and a 3-0 lead to end the opening drive. The highlight for Young might well have been a 5-yard scramble. After a play-action bootleg, Young was staring straight at Houston, but improvised and juked past the Lions defender to avoid a sack and then made another juke to get an extra yard.
"He has that in him, he has that instinct, he has that make-you-miss," Reich said of Young's scrambling ability. "Like even when a guy has him dead to rights."
Frustrated by how the first drive ended, Young came out firing and hit Thielen for a 21-yard completion to start the second series. He added a big 13-yard scramble up the middle (that ended in an awkward slide) on third-and-9 to keep the chains moving. Three plays later, Young lofted a nice ball to Thielen, who stepped just inside the pylon for six.
"We said it all week, we'd like to go out there and have some success as the first offense, the first unit," Reich said. "I thought we had two solid drives. Every little bit helps."
And that was the high note on which Young's evening -- and first preseason -- ended.
As the first half played on, Young watched from the sidelines, a grin curving his face.
Preseason or not, the Panthers' offensive struggles were well-publicized over their previous two games. This was the type of performance head coach Frank Reich and the Panthers were looking for as the Young era officially kicks off Sept. 10 in Atlanta against the rival Falcons.
"Of course, you want to try to do all you can as a unit to try to carry that momentum and build off of it," Young said. "Especially in two weeks in Atlanta, obviously you have to reestablish that."
