The Carolina Panthers’ return to the postseason has been built on one defining trait. When the game tightens, Bryce Young does not.
Now, that reputation will be tested on the most unforgiving stage.
The Panthers will host the Los Angeles Rams for a place in the NFC playoff divisional round at Bank of America Stadium, marking the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2017 and Young’s first postseason start. It comes against a familiar opponent, and one that helped define Carolina’s season in the first place.
Bryce Young can shut up his critics for good in Carolina Panthers' playoff return
Carolina upset the Rams earlier this season. It was a game that showcased the exact formula head coach Dave Canales has preached since the beginning.
The defense forced two interceptions, including a pick-six from cornerback Mike Jackson Sr. Derrick Brown delivered the finishing blow with a late strip sack. And the offense ran the ball 40 times for 164 rushing yards.
But when everything came down to the wire, Young took over.
Young threw two fourth-down touchdown passes in the second half that day, engineering yet another late-game comeback. It was the 12th of his three-year career, the most in the NFL since he entered the league.
“I just trust my guys; there’s no big conversation, no big hoo-rah,” Young said afterward. “It never wavers. It’s a competitive league. There’s going to be ups and downs, but I know my guys. I know who they are. No matter what, I’ll always have confidence in them.”
That calm confidence has come to define Carolina’s improbable rise. Two seasons removed from owning the league’s worst record, the Panthers are NFC South champions after a chaotic Week 18 finish broke a three-way tie and vaulted Carolina, an 8-9 team, into the knockout rounds.
The Panthers aren’t here because they dominated opponents. They’re here because, week after week, when the fourth quarter arrived and the game tilted, Young has taken over more often than not.
That belief has rippled through the locker room, into the stands, and back into a fan base that hasn’t felt playoff electricity in Charlotte for years. Young has already proven he can close games. He’s already proven he can deliver with the season on the line. This weekend, he gets the ultimate test.
But the playoffs don't care what you’ve done before. It only asks what you can do now. And for the Panthers’ clutch king, the biggest moment yet has arrived.