Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers had the chance to stamp themselves as a team that is to be taken seriously in the NFC playoff picture during their Monday Night Football matchup against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers. They fell flat on their face while the nation watched.
Despite being spotted three first-half Purdy interceptions on three consecutive plays, the Panthers mustered just one touchdown in a 20-9 defeat. Young completed 18 of 29 passes for 169 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. In other words, more of the same lowlights from the No. 1 pick in 2023, who is starting to run out of road in Carolina.
The player who set a Panthers record for most passing yards in a single game just one week ago against the Atlanta Falcons didn't make the trip to the Bay Area. In fact, that player doesn't seem to show up against anyone who doesn't have a red-and-black bird on their helmet.
Panthers QB Bryce Young keeps struggling vs. non-Falcons teams in MNF loss to 49ers
Young is 4-1 against the Falcons in his career, averaging 226 yards passing and two touchdowns per game while tossing just two total interceptions. Against just about every other team in the league, the Alabama product has looked very beatable in his career.
With this prime-time defeat, Young fell to 8-26 in his career against non-Falcons teams, throwing about 40 fewer passing yards per game when compared to his Atlanta numbers. In those 34 games, he has 38 total touchdowns and 26 interceptions. The Panthers need standout games from the signal-caller more than twice per year.
Bryce Young has some fascinating splits in his starts:
— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) November 25, 2025
vs. Falcons:
Record: 4-1
Passing yds/gm: 226.6
Total TDs: 10
INTs: 2
vs. everyone else:
Record: 8-26
Passing yds/gm: 183.1
Total TDs: 38
INTs: 26
Atlanta came into that week with one of the league's best pass defenses, and Young shredded them like they were nothing. San Francisco is a beat-up unit with average personnel in the secondary and no Fred Warner, yet the Heisman Trophy winner looked totally overmatched against them.
The odd part about the last two weeks is that Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was Robert Saleh's right-hand man with the New York Jets. Schematically, the defenses are identical. Young had no trouble with Atlanta and looked brutal against San Francisco.
While Dave Canales did him no favors with this game plan (why did Rico Dowdle only carry the ball six times?), Young showed more of the maddening inconsistency and challenging lows that make it harder to envision a world in which Carolina commits to him as a long-term option.