Bryce Young’s regular-season NFL debut probably wasn’t what he dreamt it’d be.
The Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback struggled throughout Sunday’s visit to Atlanta, which ended in an almost nightmarish 24-10 loss. That defeat saw Young toss two, nearly identical interceptions to Falcons safety Jessie Bates III—something the 22-year-old covered in his post-game presser.
Buy Panthers Tickets“I have to do a better job of seeing the depth,” he replied. “That’s stuff you gotta see in front of those, in breaking routes. Obviously, again, where the turnovers happen—that’s 100 percent, they’re on me. It’s on me to make sure I locate the safety. And, obviously, I gotta clean that up and be better moving forward.”
Those picks set Atlanta up for 10 relatively easy points, as they took over at the Carolina 17-yard line and 36-yard line off the throws. Falcons rookie running back Bijan Robinson (11-yard reception) and kicker Younghoe Koo (49-yard field goal) did the honors on the scoreboard.
Young closed the book on the outing having completed 20 of his 38 attempts for 146 yards and a touchdown to go with the interceptions. And obviously, that’s not acceptable for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.
“Not good, not good enough to win,” he later said of his overall performance. “I made crucial turnovers—which, again, can’t do, especially where they happened. We didn’t score enough to win and that falls on me. That falls on my shoulders. I need to improve, I need to be better.”
