Monday Morning Thoughts: Bryce Young Will Prove Doubters Wrong

Final analysis on Carolina's win over Atlanta.

It may have not been the sexiest of wins, but when you're a team who has won one game and it's mid-December, you don't care how they come. 

A big factor into the ugliness of this one over Atlanta was the crappy weather conditions. It was a steady rain that began at 4 a.m. and didn't end until hours after the game. Mix that in with some just above below freezing temps and some wind and it was far from ideal.

Despite the bad conditions, rookie quarterback Bryce Young played one of his better games of his short career completing 18-of-24 pass attempts for 167 yards. Outside of a slant to Adam Thielen in the red zone and a couple other throws, Young put the ball on the money.

The final drive of each half is where he really shined. He helped lead the offense down the field, setting up an Eddy Pineiro field goal with 22 seconds remaining and then ushered a 17-play, 95-yard game-winning drive at the end of the game. On those two drives alone, Young went 9/10 for 122 yards and made some big time throws along the way, particularly the one to DJ Chark along the sideline.

For a young quarterback that has taken the beating he has on a weekly basis both physically and mentally, it's impressive to see the kid hang in there and put together a game like this when there's nothing to play for other than development and a game check.

Whether it was Frank Reich, Thomas Brown, or Chris Tabor, they've all been asked about Bryce's confidence throughout the course of the season and each time they answered without hesitation stating that it hasn't wavered. As the saying goes, tough times don't last, tough people do. And Bryce Young...he's one tough cookie.

Like every rookie quarterback, he's had issues with turnovers at times this season but for him to have just nine interceptions through 12 starts isn't all that bad considering what he's had to work with. The offensive line has been a turnstile at the guard spots and because of it, there's a ton of interior leakage. He doesn't have much time to throw the ball and when he actually does get that clean pocket, his receivers are struggling to get separation.

It's an incredibly challenging hand that Young has been dealt for his rookie season and that's not even factoring in the play-calling duties being bounced back and forth for the better part of the year in addition to a coaching change. 

Everyone tends took at the Panthers' record and compare Young's numbers to C.J. Stroud's and say Carolina got it wrong. It's too early to judge who is the better quarterback although Stroud has won the hearts of just about everyone in the league. Get this kid a little bit of protection and a weapon or two on the perimeter and watch him turn into the franchise quarterback Carolina AND everyone else in the league projected him to be.

There's a lot of issues with this roster, but for once quarterback is not one of them.

What Chris Tabor Said Following the Win Over Atlanta

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