Bryce Young's comfort, or lack thereof
Bryce Young is a comfort quarterback. He needs to get set and in tune for things to click. That never looked like being the case against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Carolina Panthers wanted to get Young out on the move more. Something was scaring Dave Canales from keeping Young in the pocket too much, with the number of rollouts rising considerably compared to last weekend. The ex-Crimson Tide signal-caller didn't look particularly enamored with this style of moving the chains, and it was reflected in his overall performance.
Whether the ankle was impacting his footwork in tight windows that forced the Panthers into a change of pace is anyone's guess. Still, this strategy cannot continue if Carolina wants to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South title race.
Getting Young comfortable early sets the stage for the rest of the contest. The chances were there; he couldn't capitalize on them. And when the groove cannot be found by Carolina's man under center, everything else inevitably suffers.
Something felt off almost from the outset. And it will inevitably come with questions about how much Canales genuinely trusts Young to come through when it counts.
Perhaps the moment has come too soon. Time will tell on that one.
A step back (again) for Bryce Young
This was a step back for Bryce Young. Much more was expected with the Panthers in contention for the NFC South lead, but his performance just wasn't good enough.
He wasn't alone. The Panthers' defense was let down by the offense. The aggressive creativity that lit this unit up at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium vanished. When it seemed like Carolina could find a route back into the contest late, the signal-caller threw his second pick of the evening.
It's the problem some fans still have with Young. He's got the talent; he makes that abundantly clear whenever he puts everything together. But when it lacks rhythm and feels the pressure, that's when mistakes arrive.
Pushing the ball downfield was a problem. Unless it was check downs or the odd significant gain, everything seemed to stall. And with the Los Angeles Rams coming to Charlotte next weekend, things are looking a lot bleaker.
This is still a learning curve for the Panthers. The national spotlight brings a different kind of pressure, and they wilted. Young couldn't get them out of a hole, and this performance will do nothing to detract his doubters.
Back to the drawing board, I guess…