Getty Image / Michael Reaves
The year-two Bryce Young reclamation project that the Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales to lead turned out to only last two games before Young was benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. Young was so bad that he simply had to be benched.
But, Bryce Young got another opportunity to play on Sunday in mop-up duty in the team’s loss to the Bears, and he impressed. But, it wasn’t enough to get his job back.
Through two games, he was 31-56 for 245 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. As bad as those stats look, he was actually worse when you watched him play. Young was completely lost, and it’s no surprise they were outscored 73-13.
The Panthers actually won their Week 3 game against the Raiders, and were competitive in Week 4 in a 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. But, they were blown out on Sunday by the Bears, and that allowed Bryce Young to get his first crack at game action after being benched.
How did he do? Here’s Pro Football Talk with more.
Head coach Dave Canales said after the game that Dalton will start against the Falcons next week. Young was 4-of-7 for 58 yards after relieving Dalton in the fourth quarter and Canales had a positive review of Young’s first game action since being benched after two games.
“I just saw it as an opportunity there. We had a couple of injuries on the offensive line, just like wanting to get him in there to get some live reps,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “And he did a fantastic job, playing with energy, extending plays, finding some completions down the field, which was all fantastic. It’s a hard situation, but at that point, it was just like, OK, with just the different things happening on the offensive line, it was something that where I wanted to get Andy out of there.”
I watched Young in mop-up duty on Sunday, and he did look improved. But, for now, I can see why they’re sticking with Dalton, as he gives them the best chance to win right now.