Panthers head coach Dave Canales said on Monday that his decision to bench Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton comes down to one overriding factor: Dalton gives Carolina its best chance to win.
Canales noted that after he watched the film of Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Chargers, he talked with G.M. Dan Morgan and executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tillis before making the decision and informing the quarterbacks this morning.
“A lot of factors that go into it for this decision. And, ultimately, just kind of landed on my shoulder to be able to make the best decision for our group to give us our best chance to win this week,” Canales said in his Monday press conference. “And we focus on the weeks, we focus on the challenge at hand. We feel like Andy gives us our best chance to meet the challenge.
“This was my decision. This is our football team. This is trying to win on a weekly basis. And while it’s my decision, I gather information from the people that are critical to making these kinds of decisions. But this is something I felt like gives us our chance to take a step forward in our play style and to be able to compete this week against a really good Raiders team.”
Canales did not say it, but his words, tone, and demeanor made it appear as if this is not a temporary benching to give Young a break before inserting him back in the lineup. Instead, Canales continually said that he and the team were only focused on this week.
“We’re focused on getting Andy ready to play the Raiders,” Canales said. “And we’ll take it like that — we’ll attack the Raiders. We’ll attack this week and get that mentality and the things that we’re looking for.
“I don’t want to get into timelines,” Canales later added. “I just know Andy gives us our best chance to win right now.”
Canales also did not put forth any sort of plan for Young to return to QB1.
“I certainly hope he just shows up every day, works hard, focuses on his job, and continues to push himself,” Canales said. “Andy’s going to get the pertinent reps for our practices. He’s going to be in there with the first group. We’re going to ask him to step in the huddle and continue to push the ball forward as we grow into the offense I think we can become.”
When asked about how this could affect Young and his confidence, particularly as a No. 1 overall pick, Canales said those factors were discussed.
“I hate to sound like a broken record, I just owe it to all the guys — the coaches, the staff, the players, everybody involved — to be really critical about what we put on film, what I’m seeing, and make sure that I’m constantly making the best decision for the team. Every week,” Canales said. “And it happens to be the quarterback position, so it’s loaded that way. But it’s every position. And it’s all the guys. And I was able to stand in front of the team and challenge all the guys, that we all have to step up our passion for what we’re doing to play with the play style that we’re looking for.”
And when it comes to how Young can best respond, Canales kept it simple.
“Yeah, just a standard of NFL football,” Canales said. “Show up, work hard, be focused, be engaged, give everything you have every day pursuing your best and growing.”
Through two games this season, Young has completed 55 percent of his throws for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt with a passer rating of 44.1.
