A somewhat useless lesson for 2024.
The Carolina Panthers have met expectations in the 2024 season, albeit in some oxymoronically unexpected ways. The team was never going to compete this year. This was a year for foundation setting, evaluation, and introducing Dave Canales to the Carolinas. The Panthers certainly didn’t compete. They learned a lot about Bryce Young. And we maybe learned something about Canales. In that way, our expectations were well met.
Young’s season, however, was not a simple story to follow or predict. His ups and downs set different expectations on an almost weekly basis when he played that left many fans with a little whiplash and a sour taste in their mouths. How could he look so dismal for so many games to start his career and then put forth nearly winning efforts against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles? How could he be that excellent quarterback and so thoroughly soil the bed against the Dallas Cowboys?
I think the answer lies in how his own expectations were managed by both himself and his coaching staff. Young re-entered the starting lineup following Andy Dalton’s car accident and had nothing on his shoulder. He played loose and he played well. He put a couple wins under his belt and then faced off against two of the best teams in the NFC. There is no pressure against teams like that when you play for a team like the Panthers. It’s the full-game equivalent of a free play on an off sides penalty.
Then comes Dallas and the Panthers were favored for the first time in Young’s career. Not only was there novel pressure there but the offensive line played one of their worst games of the season. Young folded back on bad habits and immediately looked like the Bad Bryce of 2023 again.
Against Arizona, Young expected another bad game from his line after a week of illnesses ripped across the entire unit. The biggest effect was Young missing his current starting center. Instead, the line played relatively well. Young still played a little looser, he ran more easily and picked up more yards on the ground than he usually does along with his rushing touchdown.
He was prepared for one version of success and then took advantage of better opportunities. In the past, he has been prepared for one version of success and fell apart when it wasn’t there.
NFL games are mildly controlled chaos. Young can’t make a long career off only succeeding when games go according to plan. This year is, in many ways, a remedial rookie year for Young. Some mistakes and disappointments are to be expected. Seeing him redefine success after the Cowboys game—whether that was his adjustment or Canales’ may never be known—but it is a sign of momentum. It is far from proof of his arrival as THE quarterback of the Panthers future.
I can’t promise he is going to be either vindicated or a bust. It is, unfortunately, too early to tell in his career. Young hasn’t followed a storybook path since entering the NFL. All I can say is that I really like seeing Young bounce back to have a better week after a bad week. If you told me in the preseason that Weeks 9-16 of the 2024 season were going to feature six of Young’s best performances and one stinker then I would have thought Young was going to have a good season.
For now, as always, we simply have to keep watching to see if Young—and the Panthers as a franchise—can keep building on his current momentum.