Turf Show Times
As a fan of quarterback prospects, I was ready to go to war for Bryce Young in the 2023 draft, especially in comparison to one of the other top-ranked guys that year, Anthony Richardson. Ironically, people argued that Young would get injured too often and Richardson would look lost in the NFL, but it turns out that AR-5 is the one who can’t stay healthy.
And they both look lost.
Young enters Week 13’s game against the Rams with a career record of 12-29 and half of those wins have come this season as the Panthers vie for a division title in the NFL’s worst division. I wanted to put Young’s 12 wins — or more accurately the 12 games that Carolina has won with him as the quarterback — not to rag on him but to emphasize just how much of an outlier it would be for the Panthers to beat the Rams on Sunday.
Also because as the Rams get closer to the unknown of a future without Matthew Stafford (and I know people don’t like me bringing this up), Bryce Young’s career is another cautionary tale against getting your hopes up too high for a number one quarterback. Winning in the NFL isn’t easy, but finding a great quarterback in the draft who helps you win is even harder.
So far in his three-season career, the Panthers have only won a single game by more than seven points.
Let’s repeat that: In over 2.5 seasons with the number one pick, the Carolina Panthers have ONE win over 7 points. Out of 12 wins, eight have come by 3 points or less. These are the others:
So out of those four wins by more than 3 points, two came in overtime and all four came against teams that have/had losing records.
The Panthers beat the Falcons 30-0 in a game that saw Young throw for 121 yards and no touchdowns. Atlanta turned the ball over three times. If Raheem Morris is fired, pointing back to his two losses to the Panthers would be as good of a reason for it as any.
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