Bryce Young won this Hall of Famer over in nearly upsetting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
The Carolina Panthers scaring the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs was on no one's bingo card for Sunday. Bryce Young nearly matching Patrick Mahomes' passing yardage total was another stunner.
Young and Carolina took the narrow 30-27 loss. However, the much criticized 2023 first round selection earned new respect after the game. And the respect came via a Pro Football Hall of Famer and past Super Bowl winner.
Former St. Louis Rams Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner praised Young for his performance. Warner even shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Young is suddenly playing his best football.
“Kudos to Bryce Young who has battled through the tough year an is playing the best football of his career!” Warner began. “I thought yesterday was his best game as a pro, making big time throws, handling the Chiefs pressure and protecting the football!!”
Warner even sympathized for Young, who's endured a brief benching and rather slow start to his NFL career.
“I’ve been through this stuff and it’s not easy,” Warner concluded.
How efficient was Panthers QB Bryce Young vs. Patrick Mahomes?
Young did more than share the field with the three-time Super Bowl winner Mahomes. He was facing one of the league's best defenses.
Still, Young looked incredibly poised and efficient operating the Panthers' offense. Young even became damaging between the numbers according to Pro Football Focus. He went 12-of-16 on passes down the middle. But more astonishing for Young? How he carved the Chiefs up facing blitzes. The second-year QB completed 11-of-14 throws when blitzed and tallied 140 total yards. He even threw one of his touchdowns versus a KC blitz call — which came up the gut on his lone touchdown pass of the afternoon.
Warner wasn't the only one who expressed his respect for Young. But so did the QB's wide receiver teammate Adam Thielen. The two-time Pro Bowler said via the team's website that Young earned new admiration from his team.
“I think he’s just earned his respect when you play on the field and prepare the right way,” Thielen said. “You start to earn respect for your teammates, and you feel like you can have those conversations,”
Mahomes left Bank Of America Stadium throwing 27-of-37 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Young, again, wasn't far behind the six-time Pro Bowler in yards — settling for 263 on the day.
Young nearly got the Panthers to shake up the NFL world in their near comeback against the Chiefs. He erased a 20-9 lead and briefly tied things up at 27. Carolina fell to 3-8, but safe to say Young never fell out of favor in Charlotte. Young won respect, including from a past Super Bowl winner and Hall of Famer. Even Mahomes told reporters “I thought he played his tail off.”
The Panthers will now host the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday after Thanksgiving.
