D.J. Wonnum's productive debut, Bryce Young's improvements, and other takeaways from Panthers win in Germany

Matt Alquiza | Nov 10, 2024

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have won back-to-back football games. A dramatic, walk-off win against the New York Giants in Germany will make for a joyous flight home for Bryce Young and his teammates before a much deserved bye week. Here are a couple of initial thoughts from the win.

Bryce Young's time off was useful

It's still not perfect for Bryce Young. The second-year quarterback still has warts dotting his overall game, but it is so, so much better than before his benching. Young's confidence levels are night and day from the first two weeks of the NFL season, and they're rising weekly as he continues to take snaps and gain trust in both his pass blocking unit and his weaponry.

A couple of plays from the Panthers quarterback showed the vintage, off-schedule Bryce Young that college football fans remember from his days at Alabama. A 22-yard scramble in the third quarter looked like it could have happened at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. His first quarter touchdown, an off-platform throw in a goal-to-go situation to Ja'Tavion Sanders was Heisman-esque. And finally, for the second week in a row, Young stood tall in the pocket on a pivotal third down and completed a big-time throw to his ascendant rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette to move the chains in winning time.

Again, Young has a long way to go to live up to his lofty draft billing. He missed a handful of open throws. His size, which isn't changing, limits his overall ceiling, and Canales' offense continues to be called conservatively due to the quarterback's limitations. But it's better, and it continues to get better, and that's all Carolina wants to see from week-to-week.

D.J. Wonnum was worth the wait

The veteran pass rusher was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Carolina Panthers defense. Wonnum, an offseason free agent signing that spent months recovering from post-surgery complications, made his hotly anticipated debut for the Panthers defense that desparately needed some juice in the pass rushing department. His sack of Daniel Jones on a third down late in the first half forced a Giants punt, allowing the Panthers defense to get off the field near the 50-yard line, something that has been difficult for the beat up unit for a large chunk of the season.

Panthers defense bends but fails to break

For the second-straight week, Carolina's defense came up big when the game was on the line. After failing at their first attempt to ice the contest, a Daniel Jones to drive the Giants into field goal range that sent the game in overtime, A'Shawn Robinson called game on the first snap of the extra period. The hulking defensive lineman punched the ball out of the grips of Tyrone Tracy, giving the ball back to the Panthers offense that ran three plays before Eddy Piñero charged up the Carolina sidelines with a game-winning field goal. T

hree forced turnovers (two in the red zone, and the one to kick-off overtime) were the difference in today's contest. Much like the Saints in week nine, the Giants marched up and down the field, but the scoreboard only tallied 17 points due to Carolina's timely plays that deined an overall positive performance from the inexperienced, beat-up defensive unit.

The kids can play

The Panthers have five healthy skill position players that they can rely on. Three of them, Legette, Sanders, and Jalen Coker, are rookies that continue to improve on a weekly basis. Dave Canales and company should continue to build the whole plane out of this trio of impressive young-ins that have proven through 10 weeks that they can handle a big work load as rookies, allowing Carolina to compete in some games now while rapidly developing their young playmakers.