Bryce Young’s Inability to Elevate the Panthers Offense in High-Leverage Situations has Made Him the Achilles’ Heel of Carolina’s Offense
- Kevin Tolbert, ADSN
- Nov 15
- 5 min read
When the Carolina Panthers drafted Bryce Young first overall in 2023, they envisioned a cerebral, accurate passer capable of leading a modern NFL offense. Now midway through his third season, Young’s development remains uneven, and his performance in critical moments has become a roller coaster ride filled with peaks and valleys of success and failure. Through the first ten games in 2025, the Panthers sit at 5–5 after dropping what was supposed to be a very winnable game against the struggling New Orleans Saints, and in each of their five losses, Young’s inability to execute in clutch situations has made him appear primarily serviceable, even in the face of some exciting team wins.
Bryce Young Statistical Snapshot: A Season of Stability
Through 10 games:
1,514 passing yards (25th in the NFL)
11 touchdowns (T-20th)
7 interceptions (T-66th)
QBR of 40.7 (29th)
While these numbers aren’t catastrophic, they reflect a quarterback who’s failing to elevate his team to the level of weaponry on the roster. More concerning is how these stats collapse in Carolina’s lowest-scoring games. And in low-scoring games the offense stalls with Young at the helm.
Let’s examine three of Carolina’s worst offensive outings:
Week 1 @ Jacksonville (L 26–10)
18/35 passing (51.4%), 154 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
QBR: 17.4
Panthers converted just 3 of 11 third downs
Young’s two interceptions came in pivotal moments—one in the red zone and another on a third-down attempt. His completion percentage was abysmal, and the offense failed to sustain drives.
Week 4 @ New England (L 42–13)
18/30 passing (60%), 150 yards, 1 TD
QBR: 40.6
Panthers again converted only 3 of 11 third downs
Despite a cleaner stat line, Young’s inability to push the ball downfield (5.0 yards per attempt) and extend drives kept Carolina stuck in neutral.
Week 8 @ Green Bay (W 16–13)
11/20 passing (55%), 102 yards, 0 TD
Passer rating: 84.4
Panthers scored just one offensive touchdown
Even in a win, Young’s arm was a non-factor. The defense and run game carried the load, while Young missed multiple open receivers in the fourth quarter, nearly costing Carolina the game.
Across these three games, Young averaged just 135 passing yards, completed 55.5% of his throws, and posted a combined QBR of 32.1. These are not the numbers of a quarterback capable of lifting his team when the offense sputters.
Third Down and Red Zone Woes
Young’s third-down performance has been especially problematic. In the Panthers’ five losses, the team converted just 17 of 61 third downs—a dismal 27.9% rate. Many of these failures came on manageable distances, where Young either missed throws or failed to recognize pressure.
In the red zone, Carolina ranks near the bottom of the league in touchdown conversion rate, and Young’s indecision has been a major factor. Against Jacksonville, his red zone interception was a back-breaking mistake. Against Green Bay, the Panthers settled for field goals on two red zone trips due to Young’s inability to find open targets.
In fourth quarters of one-score games, Young has completed just 52.3% of his passes for 6.1 yards per attempt, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His passer rating in these situations is 62.7, and he’s yet to lead a game-winning drive this season where a touchdown was produced via the passing game.
This lack of late-game success is especially damaging for a team like Carolina, which often finds itself in tight contests due to a solid defense and inconsistent offense. When the moment demands precision and leadership, Young has repeatedly displayed hit-or-miss performances.
While Young struggles, other quarterbacks from his draft class are thriving. C.J. Stroud has posted a QBR over 60 and led multiple comeback wins. Anthony Richardson, who remains on injured reserve, previously showed flashes of elite playmaking. Even second-year passers like Will Levis and Sam Howell have demonstrated more growth in clutch situations.
Young, by contrast, remains stuck in a cycle of conservative throws, poor pocket awareness, and untimely mistakes. His deep ball accuracy is inconsistent, and he’s taken 14 sacks through ten games—many due to holding the ball too long.
It’s fair to acknowledge that Carolina’s offensive line has been a merry-go-round approach due to myriad injuries this season, and the receiving corps has had its struggles as they wait for Xavier Legette to find more opportunities to be effective and for Jalen Coker to get back to his 2024 performance level. But even accounting for these limitations, Young’s decision-making and execution have been the culprit. Other quarterbacks have succeeded with similar or worse supporting casts.
Head coach Dave Canales and the offensive staff have, what nay believe, an efficient system, that should have created an environment for Young to thrive by now. The scheme has incorporated more play-action and quick reads than the previous regime, but Young’s processing speed and field vision remain concerns. His pre-snap recognition is is greatly improved, but is blurry in key moments. Young often locks onto his first read, making the offense predictable.
And despite efforts to create better passing sight lines in the Canales offense, Young has been frequently observed leaving the ground to complete a pass instead being making the throws with his feet planted.
As the Panthers prepare for their Week 11 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, Young will have to reach deep to deliver more than the 3-9 third down showing last week. The Falcons defense gave up 255 pass yards and a touchdown in addition to 244 rush yards and 3 touchdowns to the Colts’ league-leading rusher Jonathan Taylor (1,139) in their last matchup. So this may be a window of redemption for Young if the team’s rushing attack with Rico Dowdle gives him an assist.
During the first matchup, the Panthers dominated the Falcons 30-0 despite Young’s inability to score a single touchdown.
Is The Clock Is Ticking?
Fans and teammates like Young’s character. But character doesn’t win football games—touchdown passes do. Despite that, Bryce Young is not a bust—but he’s trending dangerously close to being a liability. Through ten games in 2025, he’s shown that when the Panthers need him most—on third down, in the red zone, and in the fourth quarter—his ability to deliver is uneven. His performance in low-scoring games has consistently dragged the offense down, and unless he improves in high-leverage moments, Carolina’s ceiling will remain capped.
For the Panthers to become a playoff contender, they need Young to be more than a game manager. They need him to be a playmaker, a leader, and a closer. Additional, the coaching staff needs to test his deep-ball capability. Until then, he remains the offense’s Achilles’ heel—a talented passer whose greatest challenge is rising when the moment demands it most.
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