Bryce Young leads Panthers' studs and duds from excruciating overtime loss to Tampa

Reviewing the best and worst players on the field from the Panthers' OT loss at home to the Bucs.

Tim Weaver | 3 Hours Ago

Oct 27, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (right) greets tight end Tommy Tremble (82) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers have lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home by a score of 26-23 in overtime. They appeared to have iced the game with a Bryce Young touchdown pass with just 30 seconds to go, but the Bucs were able to sneak in a field goal, force the extra period and just barely escape with a win in a game where they were favored by a touchdown.

It's another frustrating result, but there was plenty for fans to feel positive about in this matchup. Let's review our studs and duds for this week's game.

Stud: QB Bryce Young

To begin, Carolina's second-year quarterback took another big step forward in his development. For the fifth-straight game Young showed signs of growing confidence and comfort in the pocket. He was sharp against Tampa's zone all day and took huge strides throwing on the run against pressure. Young finished with a line of 26/46 for 298 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and an 83.4 passer rating. Young also scored a rushing touchdown, but those numbers are far lower than they could have been if not for several drops and a score by Adam Thielen that was robbed of him by the officials just before halftime. This was another very positive outing for Young overall.

Dud: RB Chuba Hubbard

In a rare exception in an otherwise strong season, running back Chuba Hubbard had a rough performance. He only managed 43 rushing yards on 12 carries. You can place at least some of that blame on the offensive line, where the Panthers didn't get the push they usually do in the run game. Still, Hubbard can't expect great running lanes every week and he also had a devastating fumble in overtime that set up the game-winning field goal by the Bucs.

Stud: TE Tommy Tremble

Here's one you don't see every week - a Panthers tight end posting an impressive line in the passing game. With Ian Thomas on injured reserve and Ja'Tavion Sanders out with a neck injury, Carolina needed somebody to step up at this spot and Tommy Tremble answered the call. Tremble caught five of eight targets, including a couple key conversions on third down, and totaled a career-high 77 receiving yards.

Dud: K Eddy Pineiro

Missed field goals are God's punishment for NFL coaches who are too conservative on fourth down. That's why we can only blame Eddy Pineiro for his two misses to a certain extent. Still, they were only from 37 and 44 yards out - hardly challenging distances for a kicker that had been the most-accurate in league history coming into this one. Pineiro left at least six points on the field, but head coach Dave Canales might have left even more by kicking on fourth on short multiple times.

Stud: OLB Jadeveon Clowney

For the third straight game since the addition of DJ Wonnum to the lineup, Jadeveon Clowney looked nothing like the player we saw early in the season. Clowney was disruptive as hell once again in Tampa's backfield, posting a clutch sack and two quarterback hits. As a whole, Carolina's pass rush was solid as they got to Baker Mayfield for four sacks and six QB hits.

Dud: Panthers run defense

The Panthers also played pretty tight coverage and seemed to have Mayfield confused for much of the game. This was their best defensive performance in some time. However, one exception to the rule was their effort against the run. While they started out strong containing Tampa's run game in the first three quarters, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White were able to blow the gates open in the fourth quarter and overtime. They combined for 228 yards on the ground and both averaged over six yards per carry.

Stud: CB Chau Smith-Wade

Carolina's rookie class of 2024 has seen a lot of promising performances on offense, including flashes from Ja'Tavion Sanders, Xavier Legette, Jonathon Brooks and Jalen Coker. Today we finally saw a sign of hope from a young defender for the first time since Trevin Wallace broke into the starting lineup. Rookie slot corner Chau Smith-Wade enjoyed a breakout game with eight tackles, a few key stops and an interception that was a great jump on the ball.

Stud: WR Adam Thielen

Despite getting robbed of a touchdown by the officiating crew in the waning moments of the second quarter, Adam Thielen still managed to post a pretty impressive line. Thielen finished with a team-high eight catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. Thielen's incredible one-handed catch in overtime might have become a special franchise memory had the end result been different.