Bryce Young Faces His Toughest Test Yet Against Browns

For two weeks, we've talked about how different Bryce Young looks. He looks more comfortable, he's making quicker decisions, and he's spreading the football around. Maybe most importantly, he just looks more confident. I've liked just about everything I've seen from him so far.

Now we get to find out a little more. Young and the Panthers are heading to Cleveland, and this is going to be a different test for him. The Browns are going to challenge him in some ways he hasn't seen much of through the first two games. Maybe that's exactly what we need to see.

It's easy to feel good about Young after the start he's had, but I want to see what happens when things aren't going his way. What happens when the first read isn't there, or his receivers aren't getting open? What does he do when Cleveland makes things a little uncomfortable?

I'm not expecting him to walk into Cleveland and throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns. He doesn't have to do that for me to come away impressed. Through two games, we've seen a different Bryce Young.

Now let's see what happens when things get a little harder.

Cleveland Is Going to Make Bryce Young Work for It

Young has been really good against zone coverage through the first two games. He has completed 75.6 percent of his passes against it and is averaging 12.7 yards per attempt. Cleveland is probably going to give him something different.

The Browns have played man coverage on 41.5 percent of opposing dropbacks, which is the fourth-highest rate in the NFL. Last week against Tampa Bay, they played it 62.9 percent of the time. If that's what they do again Sunday, Carolina's receivers are going to have to get open.

That would be a lot easier if we knew exactly who was going to play. Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette are both questionable, and even if they do play, we don't know how healthy they're going to be. Facing that much man coverage with two of your receivers banged up isn't exactly ideal.

It could mean Bryce has to lean on Tetairoa McMillan even more. He's already shown in two games what he can do. He may have to do a little more of it Sunday.

I'd also give Chuba Hubbard the ball. I've been saying that for two weeks, so I'm probably starting to sound like a broken record. But Cleveland is giving up 131.5 rushing yards per game, and I don't see why Carolina should make this harder on Bryce than it has to be.

Make Cleveland worry about Hubbard, too.

I Want to See What Bryce Does When Things Aren't Easy

Bryce has thrown for 648 yards and six touchdowns through two games. He threw for 361 yards against Chicago and then went to Atlanta and threw for 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He's been really good.

I'm just not expecting everything to go that smoothly Sunday.

Maybe he throws for 350 yards again and none of this matters. I certainly wouldn't complain. But I want to see what he does if Cleveland makes him struggle a little bit.

Maybe his first read isn't there. Maybe Cleveland gets some pressure, or Carolina has a couple of bad drives. That's going to happen at some point this season.

What I want to see is how Bryce handles it.

He's going to make a bad throw at some point. He might even turn the ball over. That's part of playing quarterback in the NFL, and I'm not going to suddenly change my mind about him because of one bad play.

I want to see what he does on the next one.

We've seen two really good games from Bryce to start the season. I'm starting to believe we're seeing a different quarterback, but two games is still two games.

Cleveland should tell us a little more.

Add us as a preferred source on Google