Bryce Young not lacking confidence, despite results

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Bryce Young runs away from Indianapolis defensive end Tyquan Lewis in the Carolina Panthers' 27-13 loss Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. Young completed 24-of-39 yards for 179 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns by the Colts

On fourth-and-1, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young stood stern in the pocket against the Indianapolis Colts’ rush and unleashed a first-down pass to tight end Tommy Tremble.
Three plays later, Young dashed out of the pocket, to his left, and hit D.J. Chark for a 5-yard touchdown.

That play displayed the confident side of Young.

Then, there was the first series of the second quarter.

Coming off a first quarter in which he completed just 2-of-4 passes for 4 yards, Young cradled the shotgun snap and dropped back to pass. He waited for a receiver, Adam Thielen or Chark, in particular, to work their way open.  
Neither did.

Suddenly, a burst of Colts defenders, led by Eric Johnson II, converged on Young for a 10-yard sack.  On the series’ second play, Young’s pass to the flat was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

On third-and-20, he completed a short toss to tight end Hayden Hurst, who came up well short of the line to gain. Those tendencies displayed Young’s youth – and continue to illuminate many of the Panthers’ offensive hiccups this season.

“Offensively, it was a struggle,” coach Frank Reich said after the Panthers’ 27-13 loss at Bank of America Stadium. “Sure, it’s easy to put it on the quarterback. Coming into this game, I thought he was hitting his rhythm, his stride. This is a step backward for us. We went out and laid an egg today offensively.

“But it was one game. I’m not thinking twice about it.”

Reich: ‘It’s good for him to go through this’

Late in the first half, Young scrambled out of the pocket and attempted a short pass in the flat to running back Chuba Hubbard. It didn’t reach the intended target. Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II returned the flip pass into a 49-yard pick-six, extending the Colts’ lead to 20-3 with 49 seconds remaining until halftime.

Moore repeated the performance in the fourth quarter, returning another errand throw in the flat, this time 60 yards.

Despite the Panthers falling to 1-7, Young said his confidence level is not shaken. Against the Colts, Young went 24 of 39 for 179 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

At halftime, Young amassed just 35 yards passing. His QB rating was a dismal 26.5.

Reich isn’t overly concerned.

“I’ve seen this happen to the best quarterbacks in the history of the game,” he said. “They all have games like this, but you bounce back. That’s what makes the great ones.”
By any measure, Young was not great Sunday. Under his direction, the Panthers punted after their first four possessions.

Reich continues to look long-term.

“In some ways it’s good for him to go through this,” he said. “It’s good to kind of have to bounce back after something like this. It’s what we do. You don’t like to fail, but when you do fail, if we really learn from it and if we get better from it, it is ultimately put in the category of just another step of getting to where we want to be.

“We’ll take some lumps in the meantime, but we believe.”

Young needs time to develop confidence

The loss to the Colts was a big lump.

During his post-game press conference, Reich was asked if he considered benching Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. The coach quickly brushed aside the question.

“That thought has never come close to entering my mind,” Reich said.

What about Young’s confidence?

“It hasn’t changed,” Young said. “It’s a long season. You can’t carry any of that over. It’s one game.”

And with the Panthers traveling to face the Chicago Bears Thursday night, Young reiterated there is little time to dwell on Carolina failing to build off last week’s comeback win against the Houston Texans. There were times, however, when Young looked like the answer at quarterback.

On a third-and-12 play against the Colts (4-5), following consecutive false-start calls, Young hit Hurst on a season-long 48-yard pass. But on the next play, Young overthrew running back Miles Sanders for Moore’s second pick-six.

“We’re going to learn from this,” Young said. “(Thursday) makes us turn that page quicker. Now, we’re going to concentrate on Chicago.”

While the Panthers’ locker room was nearly empty by the time it was opened to the media, special teams performer Ihmir Smith-Marsette expressed his confidence in Young.
“It’s strong, that’s our starting quarterback,” he said. “Every loss hurts.

Bryce is going to keep his head up and keep pushing.”

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