Bryce Young's pressure recognition
For all of Bryce Young's struggles during the game, one area stood out as a positive from which to build. This centered on his pocket presence and pressure recognition.
Young was drafted No. 1 overall due to his exceptional processing speed. There is still work to do, but the signal-caller did a nice job of identifying where pressure was coming from pre-snap. When it eventually arrived, he got out of harm's way, for the most part.
The fumble on the opening drive aside, Young made wise decisions when pressure was in his face. His improvisation allowed him to either get the football out on time or escape before throwing it away. And sometimes, there is nothing wrong with living to fight another day.
This is all part of Young's maturation process. He was on the bench this time last year, so he is growing. That might be hard to see at times when his turnovers create a snowball effect, but the fact that he's developing more composure in the pocket cannot be seen as anything other than positive.
Building consistency in other areas is the next challenge. Young was bailed out by his defense and Carolina's outstanding rushing attack, spearheaded by Rico Dowdle. Still, his intelligence and athleticism when pressure arrived didn't hurt.
Bryce Young came through when it counted
Somehow, some way, the Carolina Panthers still had a chance to win the game late on. Bryce Young's turnovers didn't critically cost the team like they did over the opening two games. Their forceful defense and superb ground game gave them a fighting chance. Whether the signal-caller could deliver is another matter.
Young came through when it counted. There was a heavy dose of the run, but the Mater Dei High School product made some clutch throws in crucial moments. His strike to rookie sixth-rounder Jimmy Horn Jr. on fourth down was outstanding. There was another to Xavier Legette that couldn't have been distributed any better with Miami's defenders closing quickly.
More importantly, Young converted his red-zone chance into a touchdown. A quick play-action left first-year tight end Mitchell Evans with just enough space to find six from close range to give Carolina a priceless victory.
In many ways, the performance was not important. At 1-3, the result is all that mattered. Young wasn't at his best for periods, but he found a way to get the job done in the clutch.
Fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Being 2-3 is a lot better than 1-4, especially with the Dallas Cowboys coming to town next weekend.