Bryce Young went toe to toe with arguably the best quarterback of all time and almost pulled off a significant upset. The Carolina Panthers fell to a last-second defeat, but the former No. 1 overall pick took another substantial leap forward in his progression.
All season I have been doing articles on what Young to improve on and explaining why his play has been so bad. When I turned on the tape from the Kansas City game, I saw a player who looked as close to perfection as you could be going up versus the defending Super Bowl champions.
Instead of saying what needs to change, for this one game, we can talk about what changed on Young's road to redemption.
Every media outlet, talk show host, and journalist has said the same word about Young throughout the season. Confidence, or lack thereof.
Young looked very timid to start the season. He was not taking shots downfield. He didn't let plays develop. He failed to give his wide receivers a chance to win their one-on-one matchups. That's changed since being reinserted into the starting lineup.
He has been stepping up in the pocket and trusting his offensive line enough to go through his progressions effectively. Young has also been pushing the ball downfield when opportunities arise.
The Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama threw 17 percent of his passes deep in Week 12. This is the highest percentage this season while accumulating the second most drop-backs.
But that's not all.
Carolina Panthers are getting more confident production from Bryce Young
The recurring theme where Young is concerned has been handling the pressure from the blitz and knowing where it is coming from. It was his biggest struggle even going back to his college days with the Crimson Tide. He is turning that corner, too.
Thanks to the creativity of legendary Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Young was blitzed on 40% of his dropbacks. Kansas City was looking to test the weaknesses shown on tape. It didn't have the desired effect.
Carolina's offensive line did a great job of picking up any oncoming rushers. Young's pressure rate was 28% but still represented the fourth-most this season. That wasn't a problem for the signal-caller during his best performance of his professional career to date.
Young was 11-of-14 with 123 passing yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs' blitz. He consistently hit his back foot with urgency and let it fly, throwing guys open with anticipation before they were out of their breaks. It was truly one of the best outings from any quarterback across the league this season.
The advanced statistics back up that statement. Young was the fourth-best quarterback last weekend according to the Pro Football Focus grading system, even finishing above his opponent Patrick Mahomes. He was also tied for the most big-time throws according to PFF with five.
The Mater Dei High School product finished with the highest quarterback rating at 92.9 and the highest yards per attempt of all his starts this year at 7.5. Any time the ball was put in Young’s hands, he left a positive impression.
He boasted a +6.3 EPA and .16+ EPA per dropback, meaning he added .16 points to the Panthers every time Young distributed the football. He also finished the game with a +5.7% completion percentage over expected once again - the highest of all his starts in 2024.
Young made a statement in his first-ever matchup with Mahomes and has turned the tide on how he is viewed by the media and fans alike. If he can consistently play like this, the Panthers' offense has the potential to keep them in every game.
Whether they win or lose will come down to the defense getting stops.