The Panthers didn’t win on Sunday, but it was still another good day for quarterback Bryce Young’s redemption arc.
The Chiefs led 27-16 going into the fourth quarter, but Young led two scoring drives that tied the game with 1:46 left to play. After Patrick Mahomes did his thing to get the Chiefs into field goal range and win the game, Young’s teammates were effusive in their praise for the second-year quarterback’s work on and off the field.
Young addressed the team after the loss and cornerback Jaycee Horn said it showed that the quarterback “is a real dog” for telling them that it is “not a fluke where we just played toe-to-toe on the best team in the league.” Wide receiver Adam Thielen said he doesn’t think Young would have done that before being benched early this season and said “guys have been rallying around him just because of his progression he’s made.”
“I think he’s just earned his respect when you play on the field and prepare the right way,” Thielen said, via the team’s website. “You start to earn respect for your teammates, and you feel like you can have those conversations.”
Head coach Dave Canales avoided making any declarations about the long-term future at quarterback in Carolina, but said Young has “continued to show us the progress we’re looking for” and that’s the biggest statement anyone with the team can make about where things are going.
