4 major observations from Bryce Young's performance at the Bears in Week 10
By Dean Jones
Bryce Young's restricted first half
It was an odd first half from Bryce Young. There were some nice moments - most notably a deep shot to Michael Strachan that went for a big gain - but the offense looked disjointed overall once again in the face of one of the league's worst defensive units against the pass.
Young missed a wide-open shot to Terrace Marshall Jr., but there wasn't much time to get anything else of note off all things considered. Carolina relied a lot on the running game, with the signal-caller throwing a few screen passes in as the half wore on the keep the Chicago Bears defense on their toes.
This is all about making the best of a bad situation. The Panthers' offense isn't clicking due to suspect personnel, so the main goal appears to be limiting the opportunities for Young to make mistakes rather than taking suitable risks in pursuit of putting points on the board.
This was reflected in Young's first-half stats:
- 50 percent completion (7/14)
- 63 passing yards
- 0 touchdowns
- 0 interceptions
- 16 rushing yards
- 1 sack against
- 62.5 passer rating (ESPN)
There was a level of discomfort when Young dropped back to pass. He has almost no confidence in his weapons and the signal-caller was very lucky he didn't cough up another pick-six when Jonathan Mingo seemed to stumble on a route that almost came back the other way.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Chicago's offense wasn't much better.