Bryce Young completed 14-of-27 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the Panthers’ Week 7 game against the Bucs, also losing a fumble-six.
With the Panthers somehow losing 43-6 in the fourth quarter, Young gave way to Kenny Pickett for the final 10:11. Pickett immediately engineered a garbage time touchdown drive. This was by far Young’s worst performance of what had so far been a legitimate breakout campaign, as he short-circuited one drive after another and set up Bucs short fields with turnovers. The fumble-six was the most costly mistake, but Young’s second interception was probably his worst throw. He was fooled by the coverage under pressure and threw the ball right to Tykee Smith. Young’s first pick came after Jalen Coker fell down. In between all the miscues, Young could get nothing going with either Coker or Tetairoa McMillan. It was hard to see this coming — especially against the Bucs — but it is even harder to see it continuing for Thursday’s short-week date with the Packers. With that contest likely to feature shootout game script, Young will remain in the low-end QB1 ranks.
