The playoffs have a way of stripping everything down to its core.
The noise fades, the excuses disappear, and what’s left is a signal-caller with the ball in his hands and a season hanging in the balance. For Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers, that reality arrives this weekend at Bank of America Stadium.
First playoff start. Home field. A heavyweight opponent. It's the moment Carolina envisioned when it made Young the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Carolina enters the wild-card playoff round as the NFC South champion and the No. 4 seed. However, the tone around this week suggests otherwise.
Carolina Panthers need the best of Bryce Young to beat the Rams
The Los Angeles Rams arrive as the No. 5 seed with momentum, national confidence, and a roster built to stress defenses on every snap. NFL MVP candidate Matthew Stafford, the top wideout in football in Puka Nacua, and an offense comfortable in shootouts all but guarantee that points will be required, placing the responsibility squarely on Young’s shoulders.
Young has been in big moments before, but the newfound spotlight of the NFL playoffs will test every layer of his game.
Los Angeles’ front is deep, fast, relentless, and maybe most importantly, youth-infused. Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner can collapse pockets from the interior — Jared Verse and Byron Young attack the edges with speed and power. Add in the Rams’ willingness to blitz from the nickel spot and spin coverages late, and Young's pre-snap acuity has to be razor sharp before the ball is even snapped.
But survival alone won't be enough — Carolina can't play small or play it safe and expect to keep pace.
Young has to take risks and push the ball down the field, but selectively and with conviction. Calculated shots to Tetairoa McMillan, opportunities for Jalen Coker to win on the perimeter, and tight end Tommy Tremble working the seam all have to be part of the plan.
Young’s legs also loom large, not as a primary weapon, but as a release valve. When the Rams’ pressure closes in, and it will often, his ability to slide, reset, and steal first downs can keep drives alive and prevent negative plays from swinging momentum.
Those moments matter more in the postseason, especially against a defense that feeds off disruption. Then there's the run game led by Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, who must do their part to keep the Rams honest.
But no one in the stadium will mistake where the game is decided. Carolina’s path to the divisional round runs through its quarterback.
It's not often a team that won its division and is hosting a first-round matchup is so heavily favored to lose, but that's the exact scenario Canales has to counter. Everyone outside the building seems comfortable picking Los Angeles to advance; that’s fine. Young has heard that kind of doubt before. Now this week is about answering it.
In his first playoff game, at home, with everything on the line, this is the stage he was drafted to step onto.