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Bryce Young’s 5th TD of the day restores Panthers’ lead (0:20)
Bryce Young takes it himself and scores a 10-yard rushing touchdown to give the Panthers a 38-31 lead in the fourth quarter vs. the Falcons. (0:20)
ATLANTA — For much of the 2024 season, the decision on whether Bryce Young would remain the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers was a week-to-week proposition for coach Dave Canales.
Not moving forward.
Canales said Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, has proven beyond Sunday’s career-best effort against the Atlanta Falcons that he will be the starter entering the 2025 season.
“I’d say we’ll take it week to week, but there are no more weeks,” Canales joked after a 44-38 overtime victory at Mercedes Benz Stadium that ended Carolina’s season with a 5-12 record. “Bryce is our quarterback. I’m so proud of the way he just took the challenge and just grew every week.”
Young became only the third quarterback in team history to have five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in a single game. Cam Newton did it three times, the last during a Week 15 win against the New York Giants in 2015. Steve Beuerlein did it once.
The five touchdowns were two more than Young’s career high. He also had a career-high 123.5 passer rating, surpassing his 110.0 rating during his 2023 rookie season.
Young’s confidence has grown so much that when he released the football in the third quarter, he pulled a Steph Curry and turned to signal touchdown before the 12-yard pass landed in the arms of tight end Tommy Tremble.
“For me, personally, he’s the top QB in this league,” Tremble said. “I love Bryce. He works his butt off. He doesn’t just show up. He does the work, man.”
Bryce Young had a career day against the Falcons on Sunday, becoming just the third quarterback in Panthers history to account for five touchdowns in a game. He also posted a career-best 123.5 passer rating. Brett Davis-Imagn Images
The next step is to give Young a defense that can give him more opportunities to win. Carolina broke a 43-year-old NFL single-season record by allowing 534 points, the most since the 1981 Baltimore Colts gave up 533 during a 2-14 season.
The points per game surrendered by the Colts (33.3) still ranks No. 1 because they played in one less game. Carolina’s season average (31.4) ranked sixth-worst in league history.
“If you’re going to be last, be the first last,” Canales said playfully of the record. “There’s a lot of things we have to address, and we’ll get to work on that.”
There has been no indication that Canales would move on from defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has been handcuffed by major injuries — losing Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown (knee) in the opener and inside linebacker Shaq Thompson (Achilles) in Week 2.
Knowing Young is capable of winning games and putting up big numbers, however, gives Carolina the luxury to focus on the defense in free agency and the draft instead of continuing the search for a quarterback.
“It’s huge,” Canales said. “It’s a great feeling. It allows us to just look at the whole roster, to see what the investments need to be.”
Young, who was benched after an 0-2 start and not given a second chance until Week 8 after veteran Andy Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a car wreck, said this has been “a year that I’ve never had before.”
As grateful as he was to get Canales’ endorsement for 2025, he’s still looking for ways to get better.
“Obviously, as a team, we’re not where we want to be right now,” Young said. “It was a great day. It proves what we can do. We have to be consistent. We have to keep going. There’s definitely work to do individually and as a team.”
Young’s teammates have believed in him for a while. Guard Robert Hunt, who did not play on Sunday, echoed that.
“Like, he went crazy,” Hunt said of Young’s performance. “He turned up, man. I’m so happy for him. … We know what we’ve got. It’s a stepping stone.”
Young had 11 touchdowns (7 passing, 4 rushing) over the last three games as Carolina went 2-1. He had only 11 touchdowns from Weeks 1-15.
“He’s proved he’s earned it,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said of Canales’ endorsement of Young. “In this league you have to earn it every single time you step on the field. And he did it.”
