Bryce Young's pocket comfort
This was not an easy afternoon at the office for Bryce Young. The Carolina Panthers got into a hole early and couldn't recover. Their defense never gave them a fighting chance and the run game was non-existent en route to another demoralizing loss.
Having a hefty advantage meant Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles could throw some exotic blitz packages at Young in pursuit of generating pressure consistently. This presented a different challenge — one that required the Mater Dei High School product to put his improved pocket comfort to good use.
If there was one positive above all else to take from Young's resurgence, it's his confidence to step up in the pocket and get his feet set whether opposing defenders are coming at him or not. There are very few wasted movements from the signal-caller these days. Everything is done with purpose. That's a far cry from how things looked earlier in his fledgling NFL career.
It might not work all the time, but Young's pocket comfort — whether it stepping into his throws under pressure or recognizing danger on the move — represents a solid foundation to progress further during the 2025 offseason.
How Bryce Young can take the next step
Bryce Young is making decent progress. Things look much more promising now than at any stage since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2023. However, there are things to accomplish before he takes that next step.
This centers on making tight window sideline throws in key moments. Young can sometimes over or underthrow his receivers on sideline throws. It's not by much, but the fine margins in the NFL tend to result in incompletions more often than not.
It's slightly concerning, but it's also fixable.
Young's timing will increase with more experience. The Panthers must do their part by improving the weapons on offense. If the right recruits are acquired and the quarterback learns how to find the sidelines with more consistency, the better Carolina's long-term chances will be.
Young was always fighting a losing battle in this one. There are areas to clean up, but he was far from Carolina's biggest problem once again. That is probably no solace to the player, but the silver linings were few and far between on head coach Dave Canales' return to Raymond James Stadium.