The Carolina Panthers needed a win in the worst possible way against the Miami Dolphins. Pressure is building, and quarterback Bryce Young has been carrying the can.
Young is relatively low on the list of problems Carolina is currently dealing with. However, quarterbacks are held to a higher standard, and some fans are starting to wonder if the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft can take the Panthers where they want to go.
Head coach Dave Canales is already taking questions about whether Young is going to be the starter from week to week. That is extremely harsh on the signal-caller, but nobody has lost faith just yet. Everyone remains firmly behind the Alabama product, and he was confident that things would improve despite some troubling injury issues holding them back.
The Panthers are no closer to finding out if Young can become a franchise-caliber presence under center. He's had some outstanding moments this season, mixed with some critical errors that could have been avoided. There's a need to be more consistent, but at least he's protected the football much better over the last two games before squaring off against a vulnerable Dolphins defensive unit.
As it turned out, the Panthers dug deep after falling behind by 17 points to claim an unlikely victory. Young played his part, but other areas shone more.
Here are five significant observations from Young's performance at Bank of America Stadium.
Major observations from Bryce Young's performance against the Dolphins
Bryce Young's horrendous start
Bryce Young came into Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins under pressure. Things haven't gone well for the Carolina Panthers up to this point, and questions are already starting to surface about the relationship between head coach Dave Canales and his quarterback.
Young's opening to the game at Bank of America Stadium couldn't have gone much worse. He coughed up yet another fumble on the opening drive, which is rapidly becoming a concerning trend that doesn't seem to be improving.
It got worse. On the second series, Young overthrew Xavier Legette and was intercepted by Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins made them pay, scoring a touchdown to increase their lead to 17.
This inevitably sucked the life out of fans. Young isn't a rookie anymore. This is his third season, and the same problems keep coming up over and over again. There were some lovely moments, mainly whenever he went to rookie first-rounder Tetairoa McMillan, but they were nowhere near frequent enough. And besides, they were in a monumental hole.
These mistakes just won't be tolerated for much longer. The Panthers can't keep playing from behind. They can't keep beating themselves. They cannot continue to make fundamental errors and poor decisions under Young's leadership. It's that simple.