CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — After Bryce Young rifled a 9-yard pass to Darren Waller on fourth-and-4 in the fourth quarter Sunday night during what became Carolina’s sixth straight scoring drive, the chants cascaded down from the upper deck at Bank of America Stadium.
“M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!”
Young finished off the Panthers' 32-26 win over the Detroit Lions with yet another impressive stat line. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns while playing without two of his top three receivers.
Granted, it came against the league's worst pass defense.
But the idea of Young, who was benched two games into his second season in 2024, being an MVP candidate may not be far-fetched.
Through four games, the numbers put him among the league's best quarterbacks.
Ahead of Monday night's Falcons-Saints game, Young led the NFL in yards passing (1,268), passing first downs (63), completions of 10-plus yards (55), completions of 25-plus yards (13) and deep passing yards (321), and was tied for third in touchdown passes (nine).
He's on pace to throw for 5,389 yards and 38 touchdowns, which would shatter franchise records.
Young has thrown for at least 287 yards in all four games, a huge leap for a player who struggled to eclipse 175 yards passing for the better part of his first two seasons.
Now in his fourth season and third in the same offense, he is looking comfortable and confident.
If Young took any satisfaction from hearing those chants, he wasn't about to let on. The 5-foot-10 Young may lack size, but he's never been short on humility.
“Obviously the support is a huge blessing. I’m super grateful for this community, for the fan base,” Young said. “But again, it doesn’t affect us as a football team. It doesn’t give us any extra yards, any extra points. We have to earn those.”
What’s working
Behind a strong run-pass option game, the Panthers were finally able to get Chuba Hubbard going.
Hubbard ran for 122 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns, and he helped open up passing opportunities for Young. It was the first time this season the Panthers were able to use the run game to set up the pass.
“It was great to have a little bit of balance there with some of the RPOs and playing off the runs,” coach Dave Canales said. “As you know, we’re trying to get our run game going and we saw that happen (Sunday). The RPO loosens it up a little bit and allows you to have some optionality. You can start to dictate to the defense whether they can play zone or man and how they try to attack those things.”
The run game has the potential to take another step forward once the Panthers get their starting offensive tackles back.
Ickey Ekwonu (knee) and Taylor Moton (lung clots) have yet to play this season. Moton could return after the bye this week, but Ekwonu remains at least a few more weeks away.
What needs help
The Panthers need to find some answers at cornerback, which could mean bringing in help from outside the organization.
Carolina placed starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson on injured reserve last week. Both are expected to miss about eight weeks.
Rookie Will Lee III and Akayleb Evans filled in Sunday night, but both struggled. Jared Goff threw for 412 yards and the Lions piled up 452 yards on offense.
Stock up
With Jalen Coker (quadriceps) and Xavier Legette (knee) sidelined with injuries, Young leaned heavily on Tetairoa McMillan against the Lions, and last year’s AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year didn’t disappoint.
McMillan turned in one of the best single-game performances in franchise history with 14 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He nearly broke Christian McCaffrey's team record of 15 catches and Steve Smith Sr.'s mark of 201 yards receiving after a week of practices in which he and Young struggled to connect.
“Everything was clicking for us tonight, and that’s all you can ask for,” McMillan said.
McMillan gave a shoutout to Smith after he scored his second touchdown, yelling into a television camera.
“Yeah, I ain’t gonna lie, I don’t know why I thought the camera had a mic,” McMillan said. “So, I don’t know why they didn’t catch what I said. But I said, ‘Shoutout to Steve Smith. If you see this face, that means I scored again.’ So, I did a little tribute to him for sure.”
Stock down
Ryan Fitzgerald missed two extra points against the Lions.
Injuries
Canales and the Panthers are happy to have an early bye this season.
Rookie offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (knee), the team's first-round draft pick, and outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips (hamstring) were injured against the Lions, but Canales said Monday that he is optimistic neither will miss any playing time.
The week off should give Coker and guard Damien Lewis (elbow) a chance to return in Week 6.
Canales also said the Panthers are close to getting running back Trevor Etienne and Moton back from injured reserve.
Key number
The Panthers have allowed three touchdown passes to opposing tight ends over the last two games.
Next steps
The defending NFC South champion Panthers (2-2) head into the bye atop the division standings. They will be joined by the winner of the Falcons-Saints game. Carolina's next game is at Philadelphia on Oct. 18.
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