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After finding success in recent weeks as a passer, Bryce Young will face his greatest challenge yet in Week 14, when he takes the Carolina Panthers to South Philly to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Boasting one of the best defenses in the entire NFL under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles are as effective against the pass as they are against the run, with a deceptively good pass rush that can get hot at opportune times against lesser talents.
On paper, the Panthers are certainly the underdogs in this showdown, but that doesn't mean Fangio doesn't have respect for what Young is putting together in Carolina, as during his Week 14 media session, the veteran DC noted he's seen how well the Alabama product has operated the offense as of late.
“Just in the full operation of their offense. I think they’ve done a good job of coaching him,” Fangio told reporters. “They have a really good running back in [Panthers RB Chuba] Hubbard. They feature him. They’re running play-action and boots off of that run game. I think they’ve done a good job in their entire offense of finding out who they are within his quarterback abilities.
Throwing for over 250 yards in each of the last two games, albeit both in losing efforts, Young has proven himself a legit NFL quarterback after being benched earlier in the season for Andy Dalton. While the Eagles have seen better offenses and QBs in 2024, Young can sneak up on teams if they aren't paying attention, as Nick Sirianni also pointed out ahead of Week 14.
Nick Sirianni is impressed by Bryce Young and the Panthers too
Taking some time out of his Wednesday media session to talk about the Panthers' offense, Sirianni, too, had nice things to say about Young, Dave Canales, and Carolina as a whole, as they've slowly but surely begun to figure it out.
“I think there are new guys in there with [Panther Head] Coach [Dave] Canales being new in there, and then everybody just kind of finding the way of what they’re doing. We didn’t start off very well in 2021, and we got it going as the season continued to go on,” Sirianni told reporters.
“So there is probably a little bit of that. I think the quarterback is doing a nice job. He’s a good player. He was drafted where he was drafted for a reason. I think they have talented players and talented coaches. I’ve always been a fan of their defensive coordinator. I think he’s really good. So I think it’s just, again, talented players, talented coaches, and they’re meshing together with their culture right now. And it’s showing.”
Once considered the worst team in the NFL by a pretty large margin, the Panthers finally seem to have settled on an identity, forging an offense that works for both Canales and Young. While they clearly won't make it to the playoffs this season, as they've already officially been eliminated, they could play spoiler to a few teams down the stretch and, thus, put some quality play on film ahead of the 2025 NFL season, with an influx of quality players will join the roster via free agency and the draft.
