Panthers coach Dave Canales explains how riding the bench was best thing to happen to Bryce Young

When an NFL team wraps up a sixth straight season with 10 or more losses, failed to make the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year, and just set a new dubious NFL record for the most points allowed in a season, it’s kind of hard to sell someone on the fact that things are looking up for that franchise. These are the perplexing times for the Carolina Panthers.

Then again, single-season turnarounds in the National Football League are becoming more and more common these days. The Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers rebounded from last-place finishes a season earlier to reach the playoffs in 2024.

In this instance, the turnaround was courtesy of a young quarterback who took his lumps as a rookie, then got off to a miserable start this past September. Bryce Young was the first overall pick in 2023, and after two games in ’24 was sent to the bench by new head coach Dave Canales.

In a recent interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, the Panthers’ sideline leader was asked about the benching, and he had glowing praise for how Young dealt with the surprising move.

“Handling it the way that he did—with maturity, attacking it and really positioning himself for that next opportunity. And not knowing when that next opportunity was going to come, stepping back in and doing the work. Taking the challenge and really finding the joy of playing again. And I could sense that when we went out to Denver. And we didn’t get the result we wanted. We didn’t win that game. But he threw some balls with confidence, he was having fun, connecting with his teammates, working the sideline, all that.”

It was a 28-14 loss to the Broncos in Week 8 when Young returned to the starting lineup, when veteran Andy Dalton was sidelined due to injury. He threw for 224 yards and two scores, but also served up two interceptions.

All told, Young wound up the starter for Carolina’s final 10 contests. He threw at least one touchdown pass in each contest, and finished the stretch with 15 aerial scores and only six picks. The Panthers won four of those final 10 games with Young at the controls after a 1-6 start.

“I could see the shift in him, and then he just took steps every week,” added Canales. “And then just diving into the installs, diving into the game plan, improving the previous game and really applying things. And so, it was really cool to be a part of.”

Young’s hot finish could make his third NFL season extremely charming.