Bryce

Young

Young’s three-score start was his first since Week 2, though the two turnovers really put a damper on things. Young’s fourth quarter fumble short-circuited a potential game-winning drive, while his interception came in the end zone. Now, it was one of the more unlucky plays we have ever seen in the NFL — a ball seemingly everyone thought bounced off the ground actually bounced off a player into Devon Key’s arms — but Young put too much on the negative side of the ledger for the Panthers to pull this one out. They’ve now lost three straight games to fall to 3-5 on the season. Young at least snapped a streak of three straight starts with a sub-60 completion percentage. He also converted a late 4th-and-18 with an amazing throw. Young remains a frustrating option on the QB1/2 borderline heading into a golden Week 10 matchup with the Saints.

Young never really felt like he was at risk of missing this week. Despite dealing with an ankle injury, the Panthers’ QB1 was listed as a full participant in practice throughout the week and will be good to go despite what appears to be a minor ankle injury. Young draws a tough Week 9 matchup at home against the Broncos and has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions in his last two games, and has completed below 60 percent of his passes in his last three outings. He’ll be a risky QB2 this week.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said after Week 8’s loss to the Packers that Young’s knee injury could be limiting his mobility. The team didn’t list the knee issue on this week’'s injury report, instead adding an ankle injury to the mix. It’s not something that will prevent Young from playing on Sunday, but another lingering ailment could further hamper his mobility. Already in the midst of a two-game slump, Young is back in the middle of the QB2 ranks for Week 9.

Young declined to get into details about his knee injury after Thursday night’s loss to the Packers, saying, “Everyone’s dealing with something; it’s no excuse,” when speaking with the media after the game. Canales didn’t seem overly concerned about Young’s injury after the game, but did acknowledge that he didn’t appear to have the “quick, make you miss” aspect to his game against the Packers. Young was listed on the Panthers’ injury report throughout the week, but was also a full participant in practice. Young’s knee could be partly to blame for the six sacks he took in Thursday’s loss, and his health will be one to monitor in the weeks ahead, especially with the team already past its Week 5 bye. Assuming he’s good to go in Week 9, Young will face an uphill battle against a stout Broncos defense.

Those who believe that sacks are a quarterback stat might change their mind watching the Panthers block Thursday night. The 25-year-old had no time to throw and couldn’t get out of the pocket while taking six sacks and being pressured on what seemed like every throw. That’s not to say that Young was completely a victim of his circumstance; he struggled with accuracy and couldn’t get the ball downfield in another ugly performance for the 25-year-old sans a 26-yard passing score to Jalen Coker in the middle of the fourth. Things won’t get any easier on paper in Week 9, as Young and the Panthers face the Broncos.

Young was listed with the same knee injury last Friday but remained a full participant and was good to go in Week 7. Whatever issue he’s dealing with appears minor, especially if the team is still listing him as a full participant. At this point, there’s no reason to think he won’t be active for Week 8’s game against the Packers on Thursday night.

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.

It’s the first time we’ve seen Young o the injury report with this knee issue, though a full practice today is nothing to worry about. He will be good to go for his date with the Bucs. Young is currently the QB4 by fantasy points per game. Even if he does cool down this week, Young should be in most starting fantasy lineups.

This game was never quite as easy as many thought it would be given Philadelphia’s injuries. Young looked pretty good, but he was often under pressure, and the Panthers continued to make things harder on themselves with 13 penalties for 149 yards. A few of those really killed the momentum on some Panthers drives. Still, Young made enough big throws and receivers were schemed open into space repeatedly throughout the day. We’d expect that to continue next week against a Bucs defense that might not be as talented as this Eagles one.

The NFL’s passing leader through four weeks, pending Monday Night Football, took complete advantage of a defense still working to find their identity through the first month of play, leaning on his top option in Tetairoa McMillan throughout. Young now leads the league in passing and can only be caught by Tyler Shough on Monday Night Football, while only Kirk Cousins and Brock Purdy have more touchdown passes than Young’s nine. Even more impressive was the fact that he did what he did to the Lions without two of his top three receivers with both Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette out of action in Week 4. Young and the Panthers head to their Week 5 bye at 2-2 and alone atop the NFC South, soon to be joined by the winner on Monday night. He’ll be a legitimate QB1 when he returns to action against the Eagles in Week 6.