At least we still aren’t sliding backwards
Bryce Young turned in a career best performance against the Kansas City Chiefs last week and fans of the Carolina Panthers are optimistic, but also suitably dubious. The Panthers have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL over the last seven years and the trade for Young last year seemed to be just another misstep in a long and awkward conga line of, uh, let’s call them missed opportunities.
That’s why Young going toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes was such a surprise. On the one hand, it was the current peak of a weeks-long progression that included a three season high two-week winning streak. On the other hand, good things can’t happen to or even around us.
That’s why it is so encouraging to see that 81% of fans think the franchise is going in the right direction under head coach Dave Canales. It’s also encouraging to see that not all fans are losing themselves to a run away hype train. No, this is more of a slow-paced, clearly kind of fake Tweetsy Railroad hype train that we’re all only on because there isn’t much else to do around here.
That is to say that a plurality of fans would like to see Young compete at the level he did against the Chiefs against every remaining opponent before they trust him with the keys to the 2025 Panthers. A clear majority of fans want to see that kind of performance for a majority of the remaining games. That’s both fair and emotionally healthy, which is not a combination of reactions and expectations that Panthers fans are used to affording themselves.
Still, it’s safe to say that hopes are high entering this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This week’s poll results brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook.
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.