As we said all of last week, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud will be compared to one another for the rest of their football careers. So, even with a head-to-head win from last week in his pocket, the former picked a pretty bad day to have a pretty bad day.
After this year’s No. 2 overall pick tossed for 470 yards and five touchdowns in a comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this year’s No. 1 overall pick turned in what was arguably the worst game of his NFL career. Young, in Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, threw a season-worst three interceptions—two of which ended up as long touchdown returns.
The 22-year-old was asked about his confidence taking a hit after the shaky outing.
“It doesn’t change that,” he replied. “Obviously, have to be better. Obviously, there’s things you want back. But, it’s part of the game. It is what it is. It’s a long season. You can’t carry any of that over. You gotta take from it, watch the film. We’ll go over this stuff, learn from it, correct it. And then, after that, it resets.”
Young certainly wishes he could reset the afternoon, particularly when it came to that pair of pick-sixes. Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II hauled back interceptions of 49 yards and 66 yards, giving Indianapolis enough breathing room for the triumph and giving Young something to look over.
“Turned the ball over three times, two of ’em turned into 14 points,” later added Young, who finished with a 48.3 passer rating. “That’s how you lose a game. Everyone else around me did a great job, and it’s on me. It is what it is. I have to be better. But at the same time, no one’s gonna feel sorry for me. No one’s gonna feel sorry for us. I’ll learn from it, get better and we have to turn our attention to Chicago.”
The Panthers will soon travel to The Windy City for a Thursday night clash with the Chicago Bears. And hopefully, Young will get back to looking much more like the first selection the franchise made in April.
