A week after being benched as the starting quarterback in Charlotte, the 2023 number one overall pick saw 36-year-old, 14-year veteran Andy Dalton engineer a 319 yard, three touchdown performance on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 36-22 victory marked the first time since Week 16 in 2022 where the Panthers scored more than 35 points and won. The Panthers only scored 30 or more once in 2023, which was a 33-30 loss to Green Bay in Week 16.
Dalton’s numbers in Las Vegas already put him as the statistical leader under center, as Young was only able to muster 245 yards and three interceptions over Carolina’s first two games in 2024. Through 18 regular season games, Young, 23, has a 2-16 record, with 11 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Carolina was 2-15 in 2023, after a promising 7-10 year in 2022 that saw the team score over 35 points four times with Baker Mayfield under center.
Mayfield moved on to Tampa, and guided the Buccaneers to the NFC South Division title last year, while Carolina is poised to have another season picking in the top 5.
Cleveland went 1-31 over a span of two seasons (2017 and 2018), but held leads going into the fourth quarter several times. Prior to Sunday’s win over the Raiders, the Panthers held the lead for only 10 seconds over their past 10 games.
Read that again…it was not 10 seconds per game, but 10 seconds in total! This is why ownership reached drafting Young at 1, and Dave Canales was brought in as the fifth head coach, including interim, since the 2022 season. Young’s adjusted quarterback rating through two games is 9.1, dead last among the NFL’s 32 opening-day starters.
In their Week Two loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Young was 18-26 for only 84 yards. This may be the underlying theme of the 2024 regular season…underwhelming starting quarterback play. Caleb Williams threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, but the Bears fell on the road in Indianapolis. Jalen Hurts threw for 311 yards, but needed Saquon Barkley to bail the Eagles out late in their victory over New Orleans. Dak Prescott, the NFL’s new highest-paid player, threw for a league-high 379 yards and two touchdowns, but Dallas still lost in Baltimore.
Even an anomaly like Josh Allen threw four touchdowns, but managed only 263 yards in Buffalo’s romp over Jacksonville on Monday night, before being lifted early in the fourth quarter.
Carolina had lost five straight dating back to 2023 before their victory on Sunday. Dalton hit Chuba Hubbard with a 6-yard touchdown pass just 4:47 into the game, and Carolina led early in the fourth quarter 33-7.
The Young saga now puts the Panthers in arguably the most disadvantageous position in the NFL right now. Cleveland has to feel the heat to bench or release DeShaun Watson after being an abject failure the first three years of his massive contract. Miami needs to find a decent solution for the possibility of Tua Tagovailoa being shut down after another serious concussion. Daniel Jones played like a league MVP against Cleveland, despite the entire country reducing him from “Danny Dimes” to “Pesos,” “Pennies,” and even “Rubles.”
Despite insistence that they would not trade Young, several teams around the league reportedly made calls inquiring about trades. Here are four teams that should still be on the phone with General Manager Dan Morgan on a routine basis:
- Seattle Seahawks - The Seahawks passed up on taking a quarterback each of the past two years, despite having a pick in the first half of the first round in the wake of the Russell Wilson debacle. Instead of staying with 33-year-old Geno Smith, the Hawks could have taken Bo Nix, Will Levis, or hometown favorite Michael Penix.
- Miami Dolphins - With Tua being out at least three more games, and now backup Skylar Thompson being hurt on Sunday, Miami will suit up Ryan Tannehill to take charge of the most dangerous cast of skill position players in the NFL. With Buffalo’s 3-0 start, the Dolphins need to do something to keep from being left behind in an AFC East they were projected by many to win.
- Jacksonville - The book is out on Trevor Lawrence, and the results are certainly not stellar. The Jaguars are 0-3, and Lawrence has not thrown above 250 yards yet. Buffalo has been sacked 12 times already, with five coming against Buffalo on Monday. Young might be more of a necessity if Lawrence is pounded out of his starting job.
- Las Vegas - Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell cannot be seriously considered as options in Sin City beyond this season. This is why the term “career backup” never really leaves a journeyman.
When Mayfield was forced out of Cleveland, owner Jimmy Haslan wanted a shinier new toy in Watson. Young may be forced out by necessity, rather than a better option available. We can all predict that Young will see the field again at some point this season, but what happens if Dalton outperforms the franchise over an extended period? The Browns let Joe Flacco walk after 2023, where he came off his couch to get Cleveland into the playoffs, and Haslam did not want to create a quarterback controversy with the guy he gave $230 million guaranteed to. Young does not have a similar situation like Green Bay or Atlanta, where he could sit behind a top-tier starter capable of getting the team into the postseason. Instead, Young’s most profitable target is a 34-year-old Adam Thielen, whose best days are behind him, and was just moved to injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
At this point, would taking Steve Smith out of the broadcast booth to have him suit up be a more viable option for the Panthers to get Young a legitimate target?
There is certainly another year before we begin entertaining the ideal that Young would be a bigger top-overall bust than Jamarcus Russell, who lost 15 fumbles in 31 career games for the Raiders between 2007-2009, and only threw for 17 touchdowns. After year four, Young would at least be able to take his name out of the running by staying under contract in the NFL.
-JC24