CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After trading away their first round pick and posting the NFL's worst record in 2023, it seemed things could not possibly get worse for the Carolina Panthers... until they did.
The Panthers were crushed 47-10 by the New Orleans Saints to begin the 2024 season. Bryce Young began his sophomore season as Panthers quarterback with a dreadful performance, finishing 13 of 30 for 161 yards passing and two interceptions. Young's woes began on the game's first play when he threw an interception. His second pass of the second half was also picked off.
Young's pitiful first game following a disappointing rookie campaign has fans and analysts calling to bench the quarterback just one week into the season.
"The fact that he was uncomfortable in the pocket and the fact he was not accurate... were the most concerning things," Julian Council, Locked On Panthers host, said. "You should feel more comfortable as a second-year starter in the NFL."
One fan said on Facebook, "Bench Young or lose out," while another said, "You can't keep letting Young quarterback this team." Panthers fans are already at their wit's end after the season's first game.
First-year head coach Dave Canales preached a lot of positivity in the offseason about the team's improvement and expressed obvious frustration at Sunday's result.
"Certainly not the outcome that I was hoping for," Canales said in the postgame news conference. "Just all around poor execution in all phases."
Canales said he'll be addressing the "basics" with Young to try and fix the issues from Sunday's loss.
"If you can be objective about looking at the breakdown of the play itself, then it allows you to improve," Canales said. "That’s what I’m looking forward to."
Young was honest about needing to improve on factors that contributed to the loss.
"I need to do a better job of getting ready on the sideline," Young said. "As a team, as a unit, (we’ve) got to do a better job executing."
Canales eventually did bench Young for Andy Dalton in the game's final two drives. He said he considered benching him sooner but wanted to give Young one last chance to get a rhythm going.
It's unclear what the plan moving forward will be if Young continues to struggle. Players were motivated to put this game behind them and move on to next week.
"We can come back tomorrow, look at the film, make progress and move on to Week Two and change what we did today," Robert Hunt, the Panthers right guard, said.
"We have to get ready for next week," Young said "If we dwell too long, you let it affect you."
Analysts like Council, though, are not satisfied with the "this is just one game" mindset.
"You can't just look at this as just one game, we're going back to last year as well," Council said "[Young] didn't seem to mesh with what was around him... that is concerning to me."
Young had just 11 touchdowns and 2877 yards passing in his 16 starts in 2023. He threw 10 interceptions, had 11 fumbles, and was sacked 62 times.
The Panthers drafted Young with the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after trading away their 2024 first round pick to the Chicago Bears. The Bears were rewarded with the No. 1 pick in April's draft after Carolina's dreadful season. Chicago selected Caleb Williams with the pick. Williams guided the Bears to a win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday to begin his NFL career.
Could things get worse for the Panthers? We'll find out in the team's Week 2 contest at home against the Los Angeles Chargers (1-0).