The Carolina Panthers can’t feel good after their Thursday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears. They not only suffered a 16-13 loss but also saw rookie quarterback Bryce Young, who was supposed to be the future of their franchise, deliver another disappointing performance.
Panthers’ offense under Young didn’t score any touchdowns, while the first-overall pick completed just 55.3% of his passes and threw for 185 yards. This was the second time that Young failed to score a touchdown this season, and fourth game he finished with less than 200 passing yards.
Young seemed to have also lost the trust of the Panthers’ coaching staff. Being three points down with less than two minutes on the clock, Carolina faced a fourth-and-10 situation inside the Bears’ half. Instead of giving Young a chance to keep the drive going and win them the game, the Panthers sent kicker Eddy Pineiro to try a 59-yard field goal. Pineiro, who never made a field goal longer than 56 yards, didn’t even reach the uprights with his kick.
After the game, Young spoke about his frustration and the need to improve.
“Being frustrated, however you feel, it’s not going to win you a game, it’s not going to help,” said Young. “You have to turn that and use that in action throughout the week, and then we have to translate it to Sunday or Thursday tonight, whatever. We have to translate it.”
Panthers have to hope that Bryce Young’s early struggles are part of him getting accustomed to the NFL. Otherwise, the franchise’s future looks bleak, considering they traded away next year’s first-round pick to move up in the 2023 draft and select Young.
