It’s hard turning on the tape after the Carolina Panthers got another hammering by 30-plus points. But there is always a bright spot somewhere and this game was no different.
The Panthers' defense was beaten and battered. They couldn't stop a runny nose, allowing 48 points to the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The offense could not go toe-to-toe with former Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield. This normally suggests Bryce Young played horribly. That couldn't be further from the truth.
All season we've covered Young, from the struggles to the positives. The biggest issue from day one was his ability to deal with not just pressure but also the blitz. As the team limps into the final week of the regular season, it is evident that the signal-caller has turned his biggest concern into one of the strongest traits in his game.
The box score may not show it, but the film does.
Todd Bowles is a coach notorious for exotic and effective blitz packages. The Buccaneers dominated Young and the Panthers last season, blitzing him on 57 percent of his drop-backs and sacking him seven times on 23 pressures.
Young was only able to put up 272 yards, completing 26 passes on 49 attempts with one interception, zero touchdowns, and a passer rating of 60.9. Not hard to see that he obviously struggled. Even looking at the box score this year you can see the improvement.
Bryce Young is thriving under pressure amid Carolina Panthers' struggles
Bowles kept up the pressure on Young, blitzing 53% in the two games against Carolina. He was sacked six times on 43 pressures this season. The former Alabama star is a new man since coming back and it showed.
Young tailed 501 passing yards this season versus the Buccaneers, completing 41 of his 74 pass attempts with a passer rating of 90.0. He has even thrown for three touchdowns to zero interceptions in the two games facing Tampa Bay. It only gets better the deeper you look at the numbers in correlation to the game film.
The Heisman Trophy winner was pressured on an NFL season-high 68% of his drop-backs at Raymond James Stadium. The Panthers allowed 24 pressures and Young was sacked five times. But he never looked lost or flustered.
He consistently stepped up in the pocket, extending plays, took shots downfield, and kept his eyes up in the face of pressure. Young looks the part of a franchise quarterback — even his biggest detractors can admit that.
Young had the best day of his career in terms of downfield passing. In the first half alone, he was 5-for-7 for 120 passing yards, two touchdowns, and secured a passer rating of 153.3 on passes of more than 15 air yards.
He threw 21% of his passes deep downfield and had 14 air yards per attempt during the game. Whether he was extending the play while being under pressure or some aggressive play calls from Dave Canales, the Mater Dei High School produce was very accurate. Young looked like the player we saw in college when he was tossing it to speedster Jameson Williams.
How good Young has been against pressure since coming back into the starting lineup cannot be overstated. He has eight touchdowns when under significant duress. The only quarterback with more during the same period is Joe Burrow.
The No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft boasts an 85.0 passer rating under pressure this season while also having a +4.1 completion percentage over expected. Young consistently knows where his answers are and is standing tall even knowing he is going to take a major hit.
Young has shown the organization that he is the guy they not only drafted but traded a king's ransom to draft. The fact he has turned some of his worst flaws as a rookie and even a prospect coming out into some of his best traits says a lot about his ceiling.
I am not saying get too excited. I am saying this is not the same team that looked hopeless without any direction at this time last season.