5 major observations from Bryce Young's performance vs. the Saints in Week 9
By Dean Jones
Bryce Young's growing confidence
Yes, the Carolina Panthers were playing against a New Orleans Saints team without their four-best cornerbacks. However, the notable confidence improvements from Bryce Young were night and day compared to the opening two contests of the campaign.
Young played with a sense of freedom that was hard not to love. He knows the situation. Instead of accepting his fate, the quarterback used this to get back to basics and depend on the traits that made him such an enticing prospect, to begin with.
This can be the stepping stone Young is looking for. It's been a constant stream of disappointments so far. His performance wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was better. That alone should be enough to bolster his self-belief.
If the first two games of the season were a disaster, the last two from Young have been much more pleasing. Hopefully, for everyone associated with the Panthers, this can become the catalyst towards more prosperity moving forward.
And make no mistake, this is the best possible outcome for this perennial struggler.
Bryce Young should start for the rest of 2024
The Panthers got a morale-boosting victory versus their NFC South rivals. What this game should also do is provide clarity for head coach Dave Canales.
He must start Bryce Young the rest of the way. Nothing else will suffice.
Carolina remains among the bottom feeders. But with a decent-looking group of young pass-catchers and an offensive line holding their own despite dealing with some injury complications, Young needs to stay under center and see if this is the start of his career turnaround.
Young's earned the right to start again next week. Whether Canales wants to keep a sense of urgency by making this a week-to-week situation is up for debate. But even his lack of faith in the signal-caller must be evolving positively right now.
The Panthers found a way, for once, to get over the line. This came on the back of Young and an impressive defensive stand on the game's final drive. It doesn't change much, but getting bragging rights over the Saints never hurts.
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