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Bryce Young's off-script playmaking is resurgent QB's defining trait

Carolina's QB1 is a true play maker.

Matt Alquiza

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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'Bama Bryce is back, y'all.

The Carolina Panthers signal caller Bryce Young is in the midst of a revival that a Baptist church would have a hard time believing. His latest exploit, a 98-yard near game-winning drive in one of the league's most hostile environments with Pro Bowl caliber linemen breathing down his neck solidified the return of the quarterback that college football fans fell in love with at Alabama.

Bryce Young is dealing, and a return to his surgical college form has changed everything for the Panthers present and future.

The play above from the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss in Philadelphia is the new and improved Bryce Young in a nutshell.

For the first 18 games of his career, if the NFL posted something that said "Bryce Young SHEESH," odds are it would have involved an interception or him running himself into a sack. Not this Bryce, though. Not 'Bama Bryce.

With his offense backed up into their own endzone and his pass protection getting decimated, Young stepped up, rolled left, basically carried Josh Sweat on his back, and dropped a dime into the waiting arms of rookie standout Xavier Legette.

That exact type of play left fans across the Southeast in the surrender cobra pose for the better part of two seasons when Young ran rampant at the University of Alabama. His ability to make plays like the one above, the ability to make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what, was the defining trait on his prospect profile that intoxicated NFL general managers in the pre-draft process less than two years ago.

Playing quarterback in the NFL at a high level requires a couple of prerequisites. Arm talent, athleticism, IQ, and most importantly, confidence. Bryce Young is oozing confidence in this latest stretch of play, making him completely unrecognizable from the signal caller that floundered in losses to New Orleans and Los Angeles in September.

This performance against Philadelphia and moves like this aren't just one-offs. The tape from the last five weeks of Young under center is littered with big-time plays like this one.

His lead-changing touchdown toss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And his second quarter rushing touchdown in the same game are two that come to mind.

These days, everything that Bryce Young does from week-to-week is impressive. Just 12 weeks ago Bryce Young was benched for Andy Dalton, a decision that Dave Canales had to make for the betterment of his own career, the franchise he was entrusted to lead, and the young quarterback himself.

Fast forward 12 weeks, and Young is playing the quarterback position as well as anybody in the league. He continues to impress the advanced stats community and the film heads with his resurgent play, and the driving force is this promising ability to elevate the talent around him. The exact ability that David Tepper and company relished last offseason.

The Carolina Panthers have the point guard they thought they were selecting at number one overall in 2023, and it's time to surround him with some offensive talent that matches his.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

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