Sunday night, "MVP" chants rained down on Bryce Young as he led the Panthers to a 32-26 win over the Lions, his first prime-time win. It was both fitting -- Young threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns -- and a reminder of how far he has come. Just two years earlier, he wasn't even playing in games, let alone starring in them. He had been benched for Andy Dalton, with his chances of being an NFL starter seemingly in the balance.
How quickly things can change.
Young currently leads the NFL in passing yards and passing first downs. He's tied for third in passing touchdowns and seventh in yards per attempt. For a quarterback who doesn't have a rocket arm, he sure is making the most of it: He leads the NFL in completions of 10+ yards (55) and is tied for second in completions of 20+ yards (17).
And he's doing it all in far from ideal circumstances. The Panthers were without their No. 2 (Jalen Coker) and No. 3 (Xavier Legette) wide receivers Sunday. Rookie field stretcher Chris Brazzell suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. The offensive line, also battered by injury, is giving up pressure at a 46.3% rate -- only Justin Herbert is pressured at a higher rate.
So, what's working for Young? And more importantly, is it sustainable as the 2-2 Panthers look to make consecutive playoff trips for the first time in more than a decade?
The Brad Idzik effect: More passing, more deep shots, more play action
This offseason, Dave Canales handed play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik. Idzik and Canales go back to 2019, when they were both with Seattle, but this is Idzik's first time calling plays. Still, one could have assumed it would look similar to Canales.
That's where assuming can be erroneous. The Panthers currently lead the NFL in pass rate over expected and are fifth in pass percentage. And they're not just passing a lot, but being aggressive doing so: Young is 12th in deep pass rate, ninth in air yards per attempt and sixth in explosives per dropback. It's a wild departure from Young's earlier career, even excluding his disastrous rookie season.
Panthers' new tendencies
2024-25
2026
Pass rate over expected
-10.2%
2.0%
Pass rate
56.5%
64.6%
Bryce Young deep pass rate
10.1%
13.6%
Bryce Young air yards per attempt
7.5
9.0
Bryce Young explosives per dropback
7.0%
9.7%
Furthermore, Young is using play action on 31.5% of his dropbacks, the highest rate of his career. He's averaging 8.1 yards per play on those passes, also a career high. Here's one of his best throws from Sunday night:
Bryce Young is feelin' it@DETvsCAR on NBC/Peacock Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/eJVA9QoIv2
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2026
Young not only makes a terrific throw, but he does so with a defender right in his face. Which leads us to ...
The game is slowing down, and Young is processing it better
Young's superpower -- the thing that made him a Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama, the thing that made him the No. 1 pick despite his underwhelming physical profile -- is his ability to make the right reads and get the ball there on time. But the jump from being excellent at that in college and being excellent at that in the NFL is a huge one. Young appears to be making that jump.
Young is currently third in EPA per dropback on quick-game throws (thrown in 2.5 seconds or faster). That's an absurd jump.
Bryce Young EPA per dropback on quick throws
NFL Rank
2023
-0.05
29th
2024
-0.06
34th
2025
-0.09
31st
2026
0.40
3rd
Here's one such throw from Sunday night: Young initially gets a Cover-2 look, but it's just a disguise, and the Lions end up playing Cover 3 with a deep safety. Young shreds it immediately with a dart to John Metchie III.
Young darts keep flyin'@DETvsCAR on NBC/Peacock Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Yf2CbrL9oX
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2026
Furthermore, Idzik is implementing many different ways to attack. Sunday, for example, Young had three run/pass option throws, which resulted in three completions for 35 yards. It was Young's most RPO throws in a game since his rookie year. He had only three all season entering the game. Three isn't a big number, but adding wrinkles is crucial every week. Idzik clearly saw an area he wanted to attack and exploited it.
The game "slowing down" is a cliche, but it can be true. Young has just two interceptions, and his 1.2% turnover-worthy throw rate is sixth-lowest in the NFL. He's simply not putting the ball in harm's way as much. He's hitting first reads with confidence, and when things get mucked up, he's more composed.
Bryce Young this season
Career best?
EPA/dropback when pressured
-0.01<<
Yes
Negative play rate when pressured
14.8%<<
Yes
Sacks per pressure
12.3%
Yes
Negative play rate
6.9%<<
Yes
<< Ranks top 10 this season
It's not just negative play mitigation. How about this one from last night, in the biggest of moments?
T-MAC ARE YOU SERIOUS!@DETvsCAR on NBC/Peacock Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/uIhOgbACgr
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2026
(Tetairoa McMillan rocks, by the way.)
Simply put, Young is playing on time. When it's not on time, it's not the disaster it was before. The biggest strengths of his game are shining, and the weaknesses are becoming either less weak or less important.
Can Bryce Young keep it up?
As fun as this excellent start has been, it's a very small sample size against a less-than-inspiring bunch of opponents. You can only play who's on your schedule, yes, but there's little doubt a start of Bears, Falcons, Browns and Lions is hardly Murderers' Row when it comes to pass defense.
The Browns were by far the best of that bunch, and Young struggled in that loss. He was inaccurate, took three sacks and couldn't produce explosive plays against a Cleveland defense heavy on press coverage. Young was under pressure all afternoon, and that's going to be an issue, too. The offensive line is without tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton and guards Brady Christensen and Damien Lewis. First-round rookie tackle Monroe Freeling left Sunday night's game and didn't return.
Carolina is currently 26th in PFF's pass blocking grades, and Young has faced 49 quick pressures this season, six more than anyone else.
It makes sense that Young has made strides against pressure, but making such a gigantic leap for an entire season seems unlikely -- especially as he faces some better secondaries, starting with the Eagles in Week 6 after the bye. Can the Panthers keep him clean (enough)? Can he continue to play this well under pressure? Will the wear and tear of a season begin to take its toll?
That's still to be determined. Still, Young has shown major strides. He might not play like a top-five or even a top-10 quarterback the rest of the season like he is now, but it's still trending toward making a very important step for both himself and the organization. Young didn't sign an extension this offseason and will enter the fifth-year option year of his rookie deal. Should he continue to play well -- even at a slightly lower clip than what he's currently doing -- Carolina will have much more confidence believing it's found its long-term answer at quarterback after nearly a decade of searching.
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