Panthers’ Canales praises Young’s pre-season outing — ‘A hellish day’

It was just one drive against the Buffalo Bills’ second-round pick, but it was enough to suggest that Carolina Panthers second-year quarterback Bryce Young is on the right track after a historically poor debut season.

Young completed 6 of 8 pass attempts for 70 yards and a touchdown, an 8-yarder over the middle to converted tight end Jordan Matthews, in Saturday’s 31-26 win over the Bills at Highmark Stadium.

It was Young’s first and only exhibition game appearance, and according to first-year coach Dave Canales, it was a game that made him strong enough to greet the top pick in the 2023 draft with a “hell of a day” when Young walked into the locker room.

Canales later said the former Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama looked “sharp” during the 12-play, 85-yard drive.

“Couldn’t have dreamed it any better,” Canales said. “A fourth-down conversion, but seeing him extend plays with his legs, keeping his eyes up the field, finding guys.”

The fourth-down play in particular showed how Young has developed under Canales, who helped Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield have a big season last season and before that helped Geno Smith and Russell Wilson have big seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.

It was fourth-and-3 from the Buffalo 46 when Young caught the shotgun snap from rookie center Andrew Raym, who was forced to start because Austin Corbett was back in Charlotte to give birth to his son, Cooper John Corbett, 10 pounds, 4 ounces.

Young made his first moves, then saw the pressure mount and the right-hander began to fade to his left. He eluded a tackler and then threw a cross-body throw to former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, his favorite target during training camp, for a gain of 17 yards.

“Balance, a view of the field, an aggressive nature, but still being able to stay within the boundaries of what is the smartest thing to do in this situation,” Canales said.

Young followed this up with a 21-yard pass to veteran receiver Adam Thielen.

Two incomplete passes later, on a third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Young stepped into the pocket and found Matthews, a former wide receiver, wide open up the middle for the touchdown.

Young’s 140.6 passer rating, even against reserves, was a positive sign for a quarterback who had the worst passer rating in the NFL last year (73.3), was just one quarterback ahead of the rest in Total QBR with a 33.4 rating and, with 11 touchdown passes, the fewest passing yards of any quarterback in a 500-or-over season in league history.

“It felt great for all of us to play against another team,” Young said. “We got a few different situations that we had to have, which was great for us.”

Young’s drive encapsulated many of the reasons why Canales’ offense is a good fit for him. He opened with a play-action pass in which he reversed his field and hit Matthews for 8 yards.

He then threw a 13-yard pass to rookie tight end Ja’Tavian Sanders.

Canales then leaned on the running game for three straight carries to take the pressure off the passing game. Young was sacked on the next play, but the loss was for no yards as the 5-foot-10 quarterback was able to evade two defenders for a much bigger loss.

That led to the fourth-down play that played a key role in the “all day” Young got from Canales.

Young’s play and the offense’s performance, which was among the NFL’s worst last year, were a reflection of what Canales liked in practice.

“You see the transfer from practice to game, of people creating space to play after the game,” Canales said. “Those are things that are so crucial for us.”