Damien Woody hit Panthers with a reality check after Packers loss (and he's right)

Another disappointing performance saw the Carolina Panthers suffer defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. And it was another game where quarterback Bryce Young got pressured from start to finish.

This led former offensive lineman turned CBS Sports analyst Damien Woody to hit the Panthers with a reality check regarding their signal-caller.

And he was absolutely spot on with his assessment.

Carolina Panthers' under-strength offensive line is failing Bryce Young

Young didn't have a chance. Any time he dropped back to pass, he was under significant pressure in front of an offensive line that isn't fit for purpose. Missing Ikem Ekwonu, Taylor Moton, and Damien Lewis was always going to hurt, but this performance was lackluster at best.

The former Alabama star has now been sacked 11 times over the last two games. That is unsustainable, and Woody believes Young is in serious danger of getting hurt if the Panthers cannot find solutions to these ongoing frustrations.

"They've got to do a better job of protecting Bryce Young. Bryce Young is having a career year, but this is now back-to-back games where he's been sacked five or more times. We know that Bryce Young is a slight quarterback — not the biggest of guys out there. You can't go out there and take the type of pounding that Bryce Young has been taking over the last couple of games.

"We know that they have injuries along the offensive line, but they've got to solidify and get those things cleaned up, or they won't have their quarterback for the rest of the season."

It's hard to argue.

Young is already dealing with a knee injury that is clearly restricting his movement. He is reluctant to run with the football, and there is newfound hesitancy behind a line that cannot be trusted to come through for their man under center.

You can see it. Young is always worried about where pressure is coming from, rather than focusing on getting the football downfield. The Packers smelled this weakness early, and having let left tackle Rasheed Walker walk in free agency, Green Bay knew this was a fatal flaw in Carolina's protection that could be profitable for its pass rush.

Carolina Panthers must make significant adjustments to protect Bryce Young

They were right.

And not for the first time this season, Young suffered.

This is nothing short of organizational malpractice.

Injuries happen all the time. Every team has them, especially on the offensive line. But the Panthers keep standing pat, hoping these underperformers can turn things around, and it's just not happening.

The blueprint is now out on how to make Young uncomfortable. Attack the edges, use stunts to confuse the interior, and the line will inevitably crumble quickly.

It's not rocket science. But the Panthers don't have the adjustments to cope with it.

That's the bottom line, and they need significant soul-searching over their mini-bye to keep these problems from resurfacing in the second half of 2026.

The Denver Broncos are next up. If Jonathan Gannon and Todd Bowles took advantage of these problems so easily, you know that Vance Joseph is thinking exactly the same thing. And the AFC West club boasts a far more formidable defensive front seven.

This is a massive issue. Young has shown what he can do this season when he gets time, and the strategy is on point. But things are starting to trend the other way, which cannot continue if the Panthers want to reach some loftier ambitions.

Head coach Dave Canales cannot keep burying his head in the sand. Action is needed now.

Otherwise, Woody's projection that Young will take too much punishment to survive the season might come to fruition.

And that brings much bigger consequences for this ambitious project.

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