CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Boos aimed at Bryce Young echoed throughout Bank of America Stadium in Week 2. The Panthers were about to lose, and the Carolina Panthers quarterback had just missed a wide-open Diontae Johnson on second-and-long.
The Panthers were headed for an 0-2 start, and the second-year quarterback was a big reason why. He had no touchdown passes, three interceptions and the third-worst Total QBR (8.9) over a two-game stretch since ESPN began using the metric in 2011.
The No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft looked like a bust.
First-year head coach Dave Canales gave Young a brief public vote of confidence, but then benched Young for veteran Andy Dalton.
"Dave gave up on Bryce after two games,'' said a source close to Young.
Fast-forward to Week 16, eight weeks after a Dalton car accident resulted in an injured right thumb that pushed Young back into the starting role. Young had just taken a vicious body blow from Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Kyzir White, who came untouched up the middle on a blitz.
Young was flat on his back, but his eyes were focused on tight end Tommy Tremble as he rambled for a first down on the completed pass.
Young almost laughed as guard Robert Hunt came to help him up.
"I was like, 'S---, you alright?''' Hunt said of the Week 16 play that had him worried his 5-foot-10, 204-pound quarterback might have been injured. "He was smiling, so he's ready to play. Man, that kid is tough as nails, and I give him a lot of credit.''
The moment was emblematic of how Young has gotten back up every time he has been knocked down early in his NFL career.
At times this season, according to multiple sources close to the 23-year-old, Young and others who know him well wondered if he had a future with Carolina. There was no indication after the benching he would get another chance to be more than Dalton's backup. There was speculation he could be traded after the season.
Now, as the Panthers prepare to face the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday's season finale (1 p.m. ET, CBS), Young's trajectory has changed. Since the 0-2 start, he is 3-5, and his Total QBR has improved from 8.7 to 54.0. While he still has much to prove, his performance the past two months has given the Panthers hope he can become their franchise quarterback after all.
Canales and general manager Dan Morgan won't comment on Young's future until after the season, but players, coaches and executives have. And plays like the one against Arizona have his teammates believing in him.
"Show me five other people in the league that can do that at quarterback," Tremble said of the play against Arizona. "Stay in the pocket and really deliver the ball like that. And smile when they get up.
"That's why we love him here.''
THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR doubts about Young's future with the Panthers, not only because he was benched, but also because of Canales' messaging to the media, team and those close to Young.
"I don't know if this guy believes in Bryce,'' a source close to Young said of Canales as recently as a month ago.
But when Dalton was starting, Young kept his focus on improving as the scout team quarterback, where he helped the Panthers prepare to face teams such as the Bears, Commanders and Broncos by imitating opposing quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix.
"To believe in himself,'' outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney said at the time. "You know what got you here. You know how to play football. You were the No. 1 pick for a reason. Just continue to believe in yourself and keep the haters away.''
Since returning to the starting role in Week 8, Young's stats have improved. He has a better Total QBR (57.4) than C.J. Stroud (37.3), who was taken No. 2 by the Houston Texans and was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023.
From the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield to the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts to former Carolina head coach Ron Rivera to Panthers teammates and others, there is a strong belief Young is headed in the right direction despite his career record of 5-24.
"I think he can grow and develop into [a franchise quarterback],'' said Rivera, who called the Week 16 overtime win against Arizona for national radio. "I really do.''
Carolina offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said Young is beginning to show the skills he displayed as a Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama.
"His confidence has grown, and his comfort in the system, comfort with the guys around him,'' he said. "That's kind of a natural progression you'd expect from a young guy with a new coordinator, a new system, and in just his second year in the league. The confidence has really come to light in crucial moments. It's been a lot of fun to watch him grow that way.''
Even Canales seems to have changed his tone. He declared before the Arizona game that Young would finish the season as the starter. Even though there were only three games left, the commitment was notable because Canales had said for months that it was a week-to-week decision.
More significant, the statement of confidence that Canales delivered personally to the quarterback came after Young had a career-high four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles) in the Week 15 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
"To see him just continue to stay in there, to have his footwork where it needed to be, to throw to his No. 1 in progression and really see the field ... I could not go past Monday without letting him know that.
"Games like that can really pile up on a guy. And to watch him handle [it], and to be composed, and to talk with his teammates, and keep working through the issues -- thought [he] was so impressive. I wanted to make sure he knew that was great, and that's exactly what it looks like to play quarterback.''
YOUNG JOINED TERRY Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks selected No. 1 in the common draft era (since 1967) to be benched in their second season for non-injury reasons, when Canales replaced him with Dalton in Week 3.
Beyond Young's QBR of 8.9, Carolina had been outscored 73-13 with their lone touchdown coming on a Young scramble. The team's offensive efficiency rating (.70) ranked last out of 609 instances for Weeks 1-2 since it was first tracked in 2006.
The reason Canales gave for benching Young was Dalton gave Carolina the best chance to win. The 37-year-old veteran proved it in his first start, a 36-22 road victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.
One NFL executive, who asked not to be identified, said the move looked like a coach trying to save his job. Owner David Tepper had fired his previous two coaches in-season.
Rivera compared it to 2020, when he coached the Washington Commanders and benched Dwayne Haskins. That decision came after a 20-13 loss to the Panthers in which the No. 15 pick of the 2019 draft had a Total QBR of 3.0.
"You have a responsibility to develop that young quarterback, but at the same time you have a responsibility to the other 52 players,'' he said. "You have to say, 'I still believe we can win, I'm going to do this.' And then you tell your young quarterback, 'Hey, this is not a slight on you.' ''
After his benching, Young did what Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young suggested and became the best backup quarterback he could be.
"For me, I never was out of it,'' Young said. "That's out of respect for the game, respect for this team. There was never a take a step back or phone it in for a week. I put too much effort into the game to do that.''
YOUNG WOULD GET another chance to start after Dalton, who was mired in a four-game losing streak as the starter, injured his thumb.
Canales admitted "it would have been really interesting'' to see if Young got another chance to start had it not been for Dalton getting hurt.
Young didn't do anything great in his return, a 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8, but he did enough to get another start against the New Orleans Saints even though Dalton was cleared to play.
He responded with a 64-yard touchdown drive to close out a 23-22 victory, and followed that up with a 20-17 overtime win against the New York Giants in Munich, Germany.
Canales has spoken repeatedly about Young's growing confidence.
"Just decisiveness and having a plan, things that we talk about throughout the week that come alive on game day,'' Canales said before their Week 14 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"A great job of taking those conversations, taking the practice reps, and then applying them to high-pressure situations, which don't bother him. He just plays ball.''
Against the Cardinals in Week 16, Young went head first into the defense to earn a first down, then later in the drive, took off for a career-long 23-yard touchdown run after he recognized man-to-man coverage.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen said such plays "definitely'' proved that Young can be a franchise quarterback.
"He's playing at a high level,'' he said.
Thielen added that Young is stepping up in key situations.
"It's the big moments,'' he said. "It was the throws he made in pressure situations with a guy in his face. Those are the throws we like. Those are big-time throws and in a big moment that not everyone can do.''
EARLY AGAINST DALLAS in Week 15, Young rolled to his left. With nothing open and Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons bearing down on him, Young planted his right foot and made a spin move that left one of the league's top edge rushers grasping at air.
Even though Young lost his second fumble of the season five yards later, video of his move on Parsons went viral. Parsons was still talking about it the following week.
"I was mad at Bryce,'' he said on his podcast. "He had a crazy highlight on me.''
Highlights from Young's rookie season were rare, but he's had one nearly every week the past two months. His total quarterback rating in Week 16 (80.4) was the highest in the league.
Young still has areas he needs to improve if he is going to be the Panthers' long-term quarterback. Since Week 9, his off-target percentage (19.8%) is fourth worst in the NFL, his completion percentage (40%) when pressured is fifth worst, and his improved QBR of 54.0 is a middle-of-the pack 18th.
"Every day, every week, there's growth opportunities,'' Canales said. "We'll evaluate all that stuff, go through every little detail. That's going to be a part of our offseason process.''
As his second season comes to an end, Young seems to be settling in.
"So much about this game, in life in general, is actually shedding a lot of stuff that's put on us and getting back to who we really are," tight end Jordan Matthews said. "He's been able to see the whole picture, decipher where he's going with the ball.''
Young doesn't try to be anything he's not. He is humble, refusing to take credit for anything -- including his play against Arizona.
"Just another play,'' Young said. "We all get hit. Great catch by Tommy. Great concentration.''
But to teammates, and even fans who now cheer for him instead of boo, it was a statement.
"We've seen this the entire time he's been here,'' Tremble said. "He's just showing it on game day. That's the fun part. That's why so many of us have that faith and belief in him, because we've seen it every day.
"Now the rest of the world gets to see it.''