Bryce Young will start his fourth consecutive game as quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales made the announcement on Monday after the team returned to practice following their bye week.
Before the break, the Panthers won back-to-back games for the first time since 2022, with victories over the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants — the latter of which was played in Germany — with Young as the starting quarterback.
While the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 didn’t post huge numbers in those two wins, throwing for a total of 297 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, he did improve his career starting record to 4-17.
Canales had not confirmed Young’s start after the win over the Giants before the bye, as he wanted to take time to assess the situation.
“This is about Bryce looking more and more confident as he was out there in Germany,” Canales said. “I just felt a real confidence and an aggressiveness to the play and all of those things. And of course, the end result was winning. He continues to put us in a position to put him back out there and continue to build on that.”
After reviewing the game film, Canales said he noticed chemistry starting to form between Young and the team’s two rookie receivers, Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker.
He explained that as the players got more in sync, it allowed him to call more plays where Young could throw the ball downfield and challenge the defense.
“It’s on me giving him more opportunities to take those looks down there,” Canales said. “And it’s about the chemistry with the guys and how to throw different balls to different receivers with their skill sets. It’s a chemistry thing, and also myself (as a play caller) finding those opportunities to attack the defense.”
Canales mentioned that he will keep evaluating the quarterback situation on a week-to-week basis.
Young had been benched for veteran Andy Dalton after the Panthers started the season 0-2 and were outscored 73-13. However, Young regained the starting role after Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident, and he has kept the job since then.
The Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, falling 31-20 to the Buffalo Bills.
Canales also stated that he expects wide receiver Adam Thielen and rookie running back Jonathon Brooks to play on Sunday.
Brooks, the team’s second-round draft pick from Texas, has not played this season while recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in college. Thielen has been out since Week 3 due to a hamstring injury he sustained while making a diving touchdown catch in the end zone.
