The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers played one of the tightest contests of the Week 13 slate on Sunday afternoon with Tampa Bay sneaking away with a 26-23 win in overtime.
After the game, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield found Panthers quarterback Bryce Young at mid-field and shared a heartwarming message with the young signal caller.
"I'm so proud of you dude," Mayfield told him.
"I'm so proud of you dude." 🥹
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
Such a cool moment between @bakermayfield and @_bryce_young 🤝 #TBvsCAR pic.twitter.com/pnTbHEfJpC
Young has had quite the roller coaster second season in the NFL. After a trying 0-2 start to 2024 that found him on the bench in favor of veteran Andy Dalton, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick has enjoyed a nice bounce-back over the last five games.
Since re-entering the lineup in Week 8, Young has looked much more comfortable under center. He's completed just over 60% of his passes for 1,082 yards and six touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions. Most importantly, the 23-year-old has added two more victories to the win column.
Mayfield knows all about the trials and tribulations of being the No. 1 overall pick, so to see this message from him is pretty cool. The former 2018 first-rounder is on his fourth team in seven seasons and is just now seeing the fruits of his labor—being the beneficiary of a $100 million contract this offseason after throwing for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2024.
As for Young's Panthers, they were in scoring position on Sunday before a Chuba Hubbard fumble gave the Buccaneers the ball back with 5:03 to go in overtime. A Chase McLaughlin walk-off field goal sealed it for Tampa, bringing the Bucs to 6-6 and Carolina to 3-9.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Baker Mayfield Had Heartwarming Message for Bryce Young After Panthers-Bucs OT Clash.
