Bryce

Young

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.

Young visited the blue medical tent a couple of times after taking a cleat to the knee in Week 3 against the Browns. He reportedly underwent imaging to assess the injury. We never received an official follow-up report, but he is practicing in full already, so the imaging evidently checked out just fine. After years of frustrating performances, Young is suddenly a low-end QB1 against an injury-impacted Lions pass defense.

Canales didn’t want to get specific about Young’s status after he took a cleat to the leg, but deferred also to the idea of “other things.” It’s never incredible news to be looking down the barrel of imaging, but Young was able to return and play through the injury on Sunday and this has the feel of an “out of an abundance of concern” test for the 25-year-old quarterback.

Young was also in and out of the blue tent with a “lower-body injury” head coach Dave Canales said was affecting the power on some of his throws. That does not include his game-sealing interception, which was a batted pass around the 0:10 mark as a timeout-less Panthers offense desperately drove for what would have been a game-tying field goal. It was a day of adversity on the road, as Young also lost Jalen Coker to a quad injury after the wideout entered the proceedings with an ankle issue. That was one reason Young was spreading the ball around to fantasy nonentities like Brycen Tremayne and Mitchell Evans. The Browns put the clamps on Tetairoa McMillan. Today was probably an inevitable correction to Young’s sizzling start, though the volume is still what fantasy managers are looking for. He has a bounce-back Week 4 spot in the defense-less Lions.

Young got off to a slow start with just one touchdown on his first five drives. He found Xavier Legette for a 55-yard completion just before halftime, setting up an eventual strike to Darren Waller for six. Young rode the momentum into the third quarter and found Waller in the end zone once again coming out of halftime. That alone was enough to seal the game, and Young even got to take some time off in the fourth quarter. Young pushed the ball downfield with ease, just like he did in last week’s shootout with the Bears. While the passing volume may come down at some point, Young looks like a different quarterback in year four. He is moving up the QB2 ranks heading into his Week 3 date with the Browns.

It was the fourth 300-yard outing of Young’s NFL career and it came in a wild back-and-forth affair with a Chicago offense that did whatever it wanted to against a pathetic Carolina defense. The Panthers had to abandon their run-heavy offense in the first half, leading to 44 Young drop backs. Young targeted Jalen Coker relentlessly and connected with Coker for two touchdowns — one of them in garbage time. Young, who was seven percent above his expected completion rate, made a handful of impressive throws under duress and found his way into the end zone on a short rush in the first half. Young will be a premiere streaming option in Week 2 against a middling Atlanta defense.

Young has two years remaining on his contract, but is currently eligible for an extension. According to Wolfe, Young needs to improve in three areas. First, Young must check down when it’s the responsible thing to do, in turn elevating his completion rate to the “high 60s, low 70s” range. Second, Young must be comfortable playing with tempo and diverse personnel formations, including WR Tetairoa McMillan lining up in the slot more often. Third, Young must play quickly and decisively. Whether he can accomplish these feats is up in the air. He’s a mid-to-low QB2 for fantasy purposes.

Reporters first asked whether Young had received an offer from the team. Tepper passed on answering. A reporter then asked what would prompt the team to offer Young an extension. Tepper initially declined to answer once again, before adding, “but look, success is success. And you know it when you see it.” Anything is possible, but given those remarks, it seems plausible that no offer was made. The Panthers picked up Young’s fifth-year team option in April, keeping the 25-year-old quarterback under contract through 2027. This could be a make-or-break year for him as the starter, though.

Young enters his fourth NFL season with a lot riding on the line. If he can prove himself worthy of a long-term extension, he could receive one in-season. This week’s game against the Bills gives us a first glimpse at the receiving corps, as well as the rotation between RB Chuba Hubbard and RB Jonathon Brooks.