Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) – The Panthers are 6-5, having already surpassed their win total from last season. For the first time this year, though, Bryce Young won them the game.
In the Panthers’ 30-27 overtime win over the Falcons, Young obliterated his career highs. His 448 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 9.9 yards-per-attempt average were all new career highs or tied his previous marks. His 31 completions were the second most of his career.
It was a breakthrough performance for the former No. 1 overall pick, who had only thrown for more than 300 yards twice in his career, both losses. With the game on the line against the Falcons, he not only stepped up – he obliterated the Panthers’ franchise record for passing yards.
“It’s part of our identity,” Young said at the podium after the comeback win, which saw the Panthers down 21-10 at halftime. “Coach (Dave Canales) says it all the time. It’s on the board everywhere we go, on the walls: ‘Finish.’ We embrace that. We embody that.”
‘We are so resilient’ 😤 Panthers’ Bryce Young on comeback overtime victory against Falcons
Regardless of how many wins Carolina finishes with this year, this season is a referendum on Young’s future as the Panthers’ starting quarterback. He struggled as a rookie, was benched briefly last season, and much of the team’s wins this year have been with him, but not necessarily because of him.
Sunday was more of what’s expected from a No. 1 overall pick, and each game close to that helps Young’s case. Carolina will need to make a decision this offseason on whether to exercise his fifth-year option for 2027, at a cost of about $26 million guaranteed, modest by today’s quarterback contracts but still a major commitment if a team isn’t sure about a quarterback.
Every time Young leads Carolina to victory, he also knocks the Panthers a little later in the first round of next year’s draft, making it harder for them to find a potential replacement for him there.
To be centrally involved in a win like he was Sunday helps him make the case on his own merits and remaining potential.
“It’s just my expectation for Bryce to take every game plan and every opportunity and attack it,” Canales said after eclipsing his high for most wins as a head coach in his third season. “I love this group. I love the physical nature we play with. I’m proud of the effort. I have been for over a year and a half now, the character of this group that just continues to fight.”
This win, though, was different in a lot of ways.
Young has thrown for more than 200 yards just twice this season. Both times, he went way over with 328 back in Week 2 against the Cardinals and his massive total tonight. Young has also averaged more than seven yards per attempt just twice this season, and this is the fourth time in his career that he’s been at eight or more.
“I know Bryce and just our whole offense was getting a lot of backlash in the past week about the passing yards,” Tetairoa McMillan said from the winning locker room. “Everybody in this locker room knew it was going to happen, knew that we had it in our bag, specifically Bryce. We turned the tape on them and went out and balled, for sure.”
Young did all this in a game where he went into the locker room for evaluation after injuring his ankle on a sack late in the first quarter. Backup Andy Dalton started warming up on the sideline, but Young was cleared and returned on the next drive without missing a snap.
“He’s a warrior, man,” Tremble said at his locker. “That’s Bryce’s mentality. People don’t understand how hard that is. For his ankle to be messed up like that, it was tough for him to come back and play for us, and that’s the reason we’re able to win the game.”
Brady Quinn praises Bryce Young in 400+ yard 🤯 performance in Panthers win over Falcons
Young’s previous career high for passing yards came in that game against Arizona earlier this season, but he set a new mark and franchise record by surpassing Cam Newton’s 432 from back in 2011. The previous four highest passing days of his career had been in losses, and he’s the first NFL quarterback to throw for 400+ yards this season in a win, as the previous three 400-yard games all came in losing efforts.
“I’m just proud of the way he pushed through for his teammates,” Canales said. “It just speaks volumes to the type of leader he’s continuing to grow into.”
For the first time this season, Young showed he can lead the Panthers to a victory instead of complement it. Carolina’s first two drives of the fourth quarter didn’t even reach Falcons territory. On the latter, Young tripped on fourth-and-1 at his own 44 as he dropped back and fell down, touched down for a sack and turnover on downs with 3:02 left.
On the last drive, though, Young faced a fourth-and-4 with 1:54 left and reeled off back-to-back completions that got the ball to the Falcons’ 10-yard line. From there, Young found his rookie receiver in McMillan, who finished with eight catches for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns, in the end zone for the lead.
The Falcons kicked a field goal to force overtime, but Young got a 54-yard screen pass to tight end Tommy Tremble, which set up kicker Ryan Fitzgerald’s game-winning field goal and the Panthers’ first season sweep of the Falcons since 2013.
“When you can go through your progression and throw a six-yard pass that goes for 54 to win the game, that’s a real luxury,” Young said of Tremble’s screen pass, which he described as “an amazing play, amazing effort.”
Ryan Fitzgerald sinks a 28-yard game-winning FG in overtime, giving Panthers win in Atlanta | NFL Highlights
Carolina had opened this season 1-3, and much of the team’s resurgence in winning four of their next five was credited to running back Rico Dowdle, who still had 100 yards of total offense in Sunday’s win, but only 45 were on the ground. A 17-7 loss to the Saints last weekend was seen as the Panthers’ bubble bursting.
This week’s matchup wasn’t great for Carolina either. The Panthers entered Sunday’s game ranked 30th in passing yards per game, and they were facing a Falcons defense that had given up the fewest passing yards of any defense in the NFL.
“I know Bryce, and just our whole offense, was getting a lot of backlash in the past week about the passing yards,” said McMillan, who finished with 130 yards and two touchdowns. “Everybody in this locker room knew it was going to happen, knew that we had it in our bag, specifically Bryce. We turned the tape on them and went out and balled, for sure.”
While Young plays for his future, the Panthers are firmly in the NFC playoff picture. With their win on sunday and the Buccaneers’ loss at the Bills, the Panthers (6-5) are just one-half game behind Tampa Bay (6-4) in the NFC South. The two teams meet later this season in Weeks 16 and 18, and the division could firmly be on the line. If Carolina can simply stay close, two wins over the Buccaneers would put them in a great position for a division title.
Performances like this one show that the Panthers aren’t just eking out victories, instead that they are legitimate playoff contenders.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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