Bryce Young must build on newly-acquired confidence in Week 9 vs. Saints

Bryce Young's first start since being benched may not have netted the Carolina Panthers a win, but it seemed to be a triumph for the trajectory of his career.

Young was sent to the fringes after the first two games of the season. The quarterback looked like he took a major step back from not only his college self but even his rookie year. It all came crashing down after an embarrassing 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at home.

The former Alabama star was present for the game, but it is a struggle to say he was there to play. The second-year signal-caller put up 86 passing yards, completing only 57 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and an interception.

He struggled to move the ball despite only being pressured seven times on 30 dropbacks. It's safe to say Young earned his spot on the sidelines for the past six games before Dave Canales was forced to reintroduce him in Week 8.

Bryce Young played with confidence again in Week 8

There were a lot of things Young needed to improve on to salvage his career in the NFL. The first and most important was playing with confidence.

It is not something you can look at to measure. It’s more of an eye test.

When reviewing the film, Young looked a lot more confident in the offense and pocket in contrast to his first two games of the campaign. He quickly got through reads, pushed the ball downfield, and did not shy away from pressure.

We started to get some glimpses of the good he showed last year. Young was moving defenders with his eyes to create throwing windows and standing tall in the pocket to deliver throws knowing he would get hit.

The Heisman Trophy winner finished the game with a 64 percent completion percentage and a +6.6% completion percentage over expected. Young secured the highest passer rating out of any of his starts this season at 76.9. While it was not a perfect outing, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft needed to show the confidence he had in college again before his production could be truly evaluated.

Bryce Young handled the pressure cooker well

Carolina struggled to hold up versus the Denver Broncos defensive front, whether it was a regular four-man rush or any blitzes that came their way. Young was pressured on 13 dropbacks - one less than in Week 1 versus the New Orleans Saints. Vance Joseph's unit blitzed on 35.7% of his dropbacks compared to the Saints' 34.2%.

Young was able to get the ball out much faster, improving his time to throw. He consistently knew where his answers were and was not often fooled by bluff or sim blitzes like he was earlier in the campaign.

His feet also looked like a major improvement on tape. He was more deliberate and did a great job marrying his eyes and feet together, so Young was always ready to throw when opportunities arose.

He stood strong with his base even as players hit him low or when stepping into his throws. It may have seemed like a bad outing while watching, but the Broncos are the league's third-best defense in most metrics.

Young's output of 224 passing yards was the most amassed by any quarterback the Broncos have played this season. This was not an easy game to step into on short notice after being benched earlier in the season. He handled the pressure well in more ways than one.

It wasn't perfect. Young threw two interceptions - one on a miscommunication to Tommy Tremble killing a potential scoring drive in the red zone and one underthrow to rookie Jalen Coker. There were three plays where he missed open reads and one instance when he ran himself into a sack.

Outside of that, Young was on time, accurate, and poised. If he settles down earlier in the game and finds his rhythm earlier, we should see improvements in his play.

Young is starting once again in Week 9, but does Canales have more confidence in his signal-caller to open up the playbook? Time will tell on that one.

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