Panthers, Bryce Young seeks cure for collective road woes 

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Bryce Young's next hurdle as Panthers quarterback is to led Carolina to a rare road win Sunday at the New York Jets. Young is 1-18 in such games in the NFL.

In the first half of three road games in 2025, Bryce Young took the Carolina Panthers to seven punts, four turnovers, a missed field goal and three losses. 

Arriving home from the Sept. 28 thrashing at New England, the Panthers fell to 1-3 and questions swelled on Young’s future. 

Can he win on the road? Is he QB1 of the future? 

Then came the last two starts at Bank of America Stadium, resulting in back-to-back fourth-quarter, game-winning drives against the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys, resulting in Carolina’s first .500 record since November 2021. 

Backed by running back Rico Dowdle’s 239 total yards, Young helped guide the Panthers to a walk-off win against the Cowboys last week by compiling a 114.8 rating. Young completed all 10 passing attempts for 125 yards and three touchdowns when the Panthers trailed. His rating was a perfect 158.3. 

Coach Dave Canales on Monday suggested the national narrative surrounding the Panthers is starting to change. 

“It’s about belief and that’s what I see out of Bryce,” Canales said. “He just keeps believing. He keeps attacking when the odds are stacked up against him in some games. He expects to win. This has been wired into him forever. He was a high school winner, a college winner. In the pros, we’re building a team that expects to win, expects to have success.” 
In 19 career road starts with Carolina, Young has just one victory. 

Canales confirmed Young proved something to his teammates and the coaching staff by commanding consecutive come-from-behind home triumphs. Now he must prove himself again by winning on the road. 

Young needs better road routine 

Flash back to Sept. 19, 2021, in Gainesville, Florida.  

Entering an SEC game between Alabama and Florida, college football insiders debated if Young, then a sophomore, could handle The Swamp’s raucous environment. Alabama’s first-year starter passed his initial road test by completing 12-of-16 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. 

In the fourth quarter of the 31-29 showcase win, Young endured the unusual situation of the stadium game clock malfunctioning. He overcame the circumstance with a veteran-like poise. 

“I think Bryce did a really good job," then-Alabama coach Nick Saban told SI.com. “It was a difficult circumstance and situation to play in, but I thought he managed the game really well.”

That has not been the case for most of his three seasons with the Panthers. Mentally, Young said he knows the sport’s fundamental aspects don’t change venue to venue.  

“It’s the same field dimensions, it’s the same game,” Young said Wednesday. “Just make sure we’re consistent, make sure we’re efficient in the huddle, with plays (and) snaps. 

“It’s sticking to the process. There’s no drastic change. There’s no magic talk or one little thing that can change everything. We have to go out and execute.” 

Over 34 career NFL starts, Young is credited with nine wins, which includes eight fourth-quarter comebacks at home. He registered his lone road win in the 2024 regular-season finale, a 44-38 overtime decision against Atlanta. 

Young was asked if he planned to alter his road routine to help change his luck. He doesn’t. 

“I’m not superstitious at all,” Young said. 

Panthers roster reinforcements 

Young may be bothered by the concept of supernatural influences, but there’s one revision he does believe in: Roster reinforcements. 

First-team offensive performers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf), wide receiver Jalen Coker (quad) and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders (ankle) returned to practice this week. They could be activated for Sunday’s 53-man roster.

Canales said he expected Hubbard to split time with Rico Dowdle while Coker and Sanders add to the receiver corps. 

“Feels like a breeze coming through here,” Canales said. “That window is open. This week we’re going to have a few opportunities for guys to come in and help us.”   

To potentially aid the exorcism of the Panthers’ road demons, Canales promised an examination of the team’s itinerary to “show that we can take this on the road and play good football. This is a big deal for us. We have to find a way to play well on the road. We’re looking at all the things, we’re looking at all the scheduling, we’re looking at how we go to the hotel, how we travel, how we practice going into it.  

“I’m scrutinizing all of it just to try to find an edge to see if we can help our team perform better from start to finish on the road. It’ll be a great challenge going up to New York.”

The Jets (0-6) may be winless, but Young has yet to prove he can win on the road. Defensive lineman Derrick Brown on Monday offered his advice on how Young should handle the road trip. 

“Just be Bryce,” he said. “He was the No. 1 [draft] pick for a reason. He just has to be who he is.” 

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