The last time the Carolina Panthers appeared in primetime, Bryce Young threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-26 win over the Lions. Young was both efficient and impressive, hitting on all the new, creative solutions offensive coordinator Brad Idzik had installed and making some big-time throws needed. An 18-yard sideline dart to Tetairoa McMillan on a third and 14 late in the game epitomized everything that was going right for the Panthers' passing offense, led by a massive step by Young.
By the end of the night, Young was leading the NFL in passing yards.
But that was then, and this is now. After a 27-19 loss to the Packers, the Panthers are 3-4 and have produced back-to-back offensive stinkers. Just four days earlier, they were blown out 43-13 by the Buccaneers, a game in which Young threw two interceptions and took five sacks. Thursday, Young took six sacks and threw a pick.
Teams have bad games and even bad stretches. But this stretch has been particularly worrisome for the Panthers for a bevy of reasons: Young's play, yes, but also a crumbling offensive line and opponents figuring out some of Idzik's and Young's tendencies. Given Young's rocky career path thus far, there are big questions arising, the same big questions that have followed him his entire career. Do the Panthers have answers?
Problem No. 1: The offensive line has fallen apart
Young's biggest strength has always been his mind. He is terrific at dissecting defenses both pre- and post-snap. This week was always going to be a challenge. Short weeks on the road leave far less time to prepare, and it often becomes a "players, not plays" scenario when it comes to determining a winner; physical skill wins out.
Young, because of some of his physical limitations, has a thin margin for error. And when the Panthers trot out an offensive line like this, especially against a blitz-heavy, disguise-heavy Packers defense, that margin for error completely disappears.
Panthers' ideal OL
Panthers' OL Thursday
Reason
LT Ikem Ekwonu
Ekwonu is injured (torn patellar tendon)
LG Damien Lewis
Lewis is injured (knee)
C Luke Fortner
N/A
RG Robert Hunt
RG Robert Hunt
N/A
RT Taylor Moton
Moton is injured (broken leg/ankle)
This group doesn't cut it. Walker was particularly brutal, allowing four pressures and a sack and committing two penalties. Fortner and Freeling allowed three pressures, and Hunt allowed two. In fact, the only players who didn't allow a pressure, according to PFF, were Bullock (who left early with an injury) and Jake Curhan, who was called up from the practice squad.
Injuries have completely destroyed this unit. The Panthers knew they'd be without Ekwonu for most of, if not all of, this season. Walker was supposed to be a suitable replacement. He had been an established starter for the Packers. Instead, his 30 pressures allowed are the most in the NFL.
At the other tackle spot, Moton has been a steady presence for years. But he missed the start of the year with blood clots and then broke his leg and suffered ankle ligament damage that ended his season after two games. Freeling, a first-round pick who was viewed as a project and is coming off a knee injury, has played a ton. He currently ranks 65th out of 71 tackles in PFF's grades (Walker is tied for 58th).
On Thursday, Amazon Prime commentators Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels discussed the Panthers trying to "protect" their tackles. But really, there was nowhere to hide and, for Young, nowhere to escape. What is he supposed to do when three offensive linemen -- including both tackles -- get beat immediately?
SWARMED 📺: Prime Video pic.twitter.com/CT4vF4IaUk
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 30, 2026
Or when Freeling gets beat so easily it's like he was hardly there?
Barryn Sorrell gets the fifth sack of the night for the Packers! CARvsGB on Prime Video Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/0MBS9KVmSV
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2026
The tackles are far from the only problem. Fortner has given up 18 pressures, six more than any other center. The left guard spot currently belongs to Bullock, who only joined Carolina after not surviving the Ravens' final cuts.
As such, Young has faced the ...
- most pressures in the league (133)
- most quick pressures in the NFL (80)
- highest pressure rate when not blitzed (45%), on pace for the highest rate since 2023 Justin Fields
- fifth-highest pressure rate overall (45%)
- fourth-most hits in the NFL (50)
That's impossible to survive. While he isn't faultless for his sack problems, PFF says the offensive line has been at least partially responsible on 83% of the pressures he's faced, the 10th-highest rate in the NFL.
Problem No. 2: The easy solutions are gone
Perhaps the play most illustrative of this problem was actually one of Young's better plays Thursday. On an RPO throw, Young nearly ripped it to Tetairoa McMillan immediately. The problem? Packers linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper was standing right there. He knew what was coming. Young double-clutched, McMillan worked his way into a tiny sliver of space, and Young fired for a first down.
Still, it showed that one of the solutions Idzik implemented this offseason, these quick-hitting passes, are getting more challenging and less effective.
Bryce Young -- Passes under 2.5 seconds
Weeks 1-5
Weeks 6-8
Success rate
54.5%
41.7%
EPA per play
0.40
-0.16
TD-Int
4-0
2-2
When you're trying to protect your offensive line, quick throws make sense. But an over-reliance on them makes them too easy to defend. Young threw 20 passes that came out in 2.5 seconds or faster Thursday, the most of the season, and his 40% success rate on these throws was his worst of the season.
Problem 3: Defenses closing in on Young, who isn't 100%
Smart opponents are basically saying, "Want to beat us over the top? Prove it." Two of Young's worst games this year have been against the Browns and the Packers, who rank first and third, respectively, in press coverage snaps. The other was against the Buccaneers, who knew they didn't need to press or blitz because they were constantly wreaking havoc up front (42% pressure rate) even without doing so.
There's a game plan here to compress everything in front of Young and see if he can win deep, which he can't under current conditions. Thursday, Young went 1 for 6 on passes 10+ yards downfield and only attempted one pass 20+ yards downfield.
Bryce Young this season
vs. CLE, TB, GB
vs. everyone else
EPA per dropback
-0.25
0.25
Negative play rate
14.7%
6.0%
Net yards per attempt
4.9
7.9
Completions 10+ yards downfield
11
34
Using net yards per attempt, Young is on par with Daniel Jones and Jalon Daniels in those three bad games and on par with Drake Maye and Trevor Lawrence in every other game.
The problem? Teams are starting to pick up on the weaknesses.
Young was ninth in net yards per attempt through six weeks (7.4). He's averaging 4.5 net yards per attempt over the past two weeks.
Another problem? Young isn't 100%. He's been on the injury report with a knee issue the past several weeks, and though he hasn't missed any practice time, coach Dave Canales thinks it's impacting him.
"I would say that he certainly doesn't look like he's got that quick, make you miss type of deal, but he was able to create some space for himself," Canales said, per the team's transcript.
Young's sack rate and sack-to-pressure rate are way up, indicators of a lack of protection and a lack of escapability. Opponents will attack each and every weakness relentlessly, and right now, both Young and Carolina have many.
Can the Panthers turn it around?
The short answer is yes, but the ceiling is low.
If it feels like every week is a referendum on Young, it's because he walks such a fine line between success and failure. He is not going to overcome suboptimal surroundings consistently. He is very smart and accurate in tight spaces when not under pressure, but he is rarely going to win deep, and his arm-strength issues prevent him from accessing all areas of the field. That's why it feels like defenses are closing in so much. They are challenging Young to win in places he doesn't usually win.
The line has to get better for Young to have any chance. Canales is confident it will.
"I just think it comes down to a protection plan deal for us, because when we give Bryce time he's shown his ability to be able to spread the ball around, distribute it, find accurate throws in traffic and all those things, and I'm confident if we shore that thing up, which we will -- when we shore that part up -- Bryce will be back in his rhythm making the throws that he can."
Idzik will come up with some solutions, too, and a mini-bye here should help. But we've seen throughout Young's career that the ceiling is relatively low. Even at his best, he's a middle-of-the-league quarterback, and those "at his best" stretches are fragile. That much is clearly and obviously on display right now.
