Bryce Young is starting to figure out who he is. It's taken a while for the Carolina Panthers quarterback, and it's been a rollercoaster along the way, but he's found an identity within head coach Dave Canales' scheme at long last.
The Panthers are a run-first team, led by Rico Dowdle and a strong offensive line. This allows Young to manage games effectively, take what defenses give him, and rely on his sharp processing to move the chains when needed. And when the former Alabama standout gets the chance to come through in the clutch, he almost always delivers the goods.
Young experienced something rare in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints. The signal-caller was going into the game as a heavy favorite for one of the first times in his professional career. That's a testament to how far the Panthers have come in Year 2 under Canales, but it represented a different type of pressure for the Heisman Trophy winner and his supporting cast.
As it turned out, Young was woeful, and the Panthers were stunned on home turf by the Saints to the dismay oof those in attendance.
With this in mind, here are five significant observations from Young's performance against New Orleans in Week 10.
Major observations from Bryce Young's performance against the Saints
Bryce Young's lack of early rhythm
Bryce Young found life difficult during the opening exchanges despite leading a touchdown drive to begin the contest. There was no real rhythm, and everything felt flat. He wasn't alone, but it seemed like the New Orleans Saints had the correct game plan in place immediately.
These complications stemmed from timing. Everything was off, whether it was the route-running of his wide receivers or Young's ability to hit them in stride. The Panthers struggled to run the ball, and that had a ripple effect. There were also a couple of batted passes at the line of scrimmage that could have been a lot worse.
Veteran linebacker Demario Davis had Young's number. He deflected a pass and baited the signal-caller into an interception that was overturned due to a New Orleans infringement on the play. He seemed to know where the Mater Dei High School graduate was going to go with the football almost every time, and several offensive drives stalled as a result.
The blueprint had been lost. New Orleans stopped the run. They found ways to pressure Young, but there was no consistent upbeat rhythm. Unfortunately, this proved to be the case throughout a woeful first-half offensive display when much more was expected of Carolina in this one.