Just four days before he’d take the field for the final preseason outing of his rookie campaign, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young said he was looking to improve on operation and execution in closing out the summer.
“I think really just continuin’ to grow and the ownership of the playbook and command of the huddle and things of that nature,” he told reporters of this week’s goals on Monday. “And then just being more efficient with execution, with where my eyes wanna be—pre and post-snap. Makin’ sure it’s a smooth operation from a ball-handling standpoint, cadence, footwork, all those sorts of things. Just like you said—fine tuning that and trying to keep pushing that and not being complacent.”
Well, he certainly wasn’t complacent when the time came.
On the second drive of Friday night’s matchup with the Detroit Lions, Young finally put up the first professional points of his football career. He’d find wide receiver Adam Thielen on this 16-yard beauty at the 2:26 mark of the first quarter:
Quick math: Bryce Young + Adam Thielen = 6️⃣
📺: #DETvsCAR on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/624TrfDUF6 pic.twitter.com/MQFZAkNfTM— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2023
Young, who had impressed with his feet on the opening touch, certainly operated and executed the next time out—having also recorded a 21-yard completion to Thielen and another 13 yards’ worth of scrambling action on another slick run. Through the two possessions, which left the Panthers with a 10-0 lead, he connected on seven of his 12 throws for 73 yards with 21 more yards on three rushing attempts.
