On Friday night, Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young scored his first NFL touchdown. So, how did he feel about it?
The 2023 draft’s No. 1 overall pick was asked to reflect on the second possession of Friday night’s preseason finale, one that finished up in the end zone on a 16-yard completion to wideout Adam Thielen. And Young, per usual, credited his teammates for the success.
“I thought it was a great drive, from us as a unit,” he replied. “I think up front did a great job throughout, in the run and pass game. Receivers and the passing game did a great job of getting open. And the run game, going in and adding that. Running backs—great job running the ball and protecting.
“So I think it was just good execution. Good communication. Whenever we’re able to be efficient, start fast and kinda keep things going again. For me, I’m just trying to do everything I can to execute the plays that Coach Reich is calling.”
Reich called Young into connecting on seven of his 12 throws for a preseason-high 73 yards. He now finishes his summer performances on a 58.3-percent completion rate with 129 yards, the touchdown and no interceptions.
Young was then asked if it was good for him and the offense to end that summer on a scoring note.
“It’s great to be able to put that on tape, to be able to coach from that,” he said. “Again, there’s still stuff in there that I gotta improve and as a unit we wanna get better at. But, of course, you wanna to do all you can as a unit to try to carry that momentum and build off of it.”
Hopefully for the Panthers, that momentum follows them into Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 10.