Bryce Young's poise
Bryce Young has overcome significant adversity throughout his three-year career. He was once labeled among the biggest draft busts of the modern era after the Carolina Panthers benched him last season. He took his lessons to heart, came back stronger, and now believes there is nothing he cannot conquer.
This is no more evident than watching Young's poise. He's always in complete control. Things might not go his way all the time, but the signal-caller never alters course. He is always pushing forward with the ability to move swiftly from one play to the next, regardless of how it turned out.
These improvements were needed in no uncertain terms in the Week 15 pressure cooker. Young might be relatively small in stature compared to other quarterbacks, but he always stands tall. This is something his teammates feed off, and although head coach Dave Canales' rushing attack began to feel a little too predictable as the contest wore on, the quarterback was managing things well enough.
It was a grind. The Saints did a good job defensively once again, limiting the Panthers. Young had to fight for absolutely everything, but he managed to provide a sense of calm to ensure momentum didn't completely sap away down the stretch.
Bryce Young couldn't mask the Carolina Panthers' failings
Bryce Young has developed a sound reputation around the league for coming through in the clutch. The number of game-winning drives is astonishing when one considers how few contests the Carolina Panthers have won since he came into the fold, which speaks volumes about his resolve, focus, and consistency with everything on the line.
It was clear from early on that this game was going to be decided by razor-thin margins. The Panthers didn't play particularly well, but the result was all that mattered. As it turned out, the contest was tied with a little over two minutes remaining, and Young had the football.
This was the most pressure of any game-winning moment Young had experienced in the NFL previously. The Saints had all the momentum down the stretch, and it was going to be challenging to swing the pendulum.
That proved to be the case. Young tried valiantly, but most of the yards came with his legs. Receivers weren't getting open, and the pocket was collapsing too quickly. The Saints got the football back, and an inexplicable unnecessary roughness infringement by rookie safety Lathan Ransom was just enough for New Orleans to hit a game-winning field goal.
A disaster of epic proportions. But the Panthers are not out of the fight just yet.