Bryce Young, Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers offense had a nearly perfect opening drive in Saturday’s final preseason game against Buffalo, scoring a touchdown with one of the most impressive routes in recent years.
And then Young took his seat and waited for the regular season opener on September 8 in New Orleans.
The Panthers were content to get one on their first offense in Buffalo — the “one” being that 12-play, 85-yard drive in which Young completed his first five passes. Then, after two incomplete passes inside the 10, the second-year quarterback threw a third-down dart to Jordan Matthews, who caught an 8-yard touchdown pass on the game’s opening drive.
The play design on the touchdown was great and the offensive line defense was similarly good for most of the series. It was the only playing time for Young and the first team offense in the preseason, as Carolina had used the substitutes throughout the first two exhibition games, resulting in a lot of disjointed football.
Although that march lasted all day Saturday, it was the kind of march Panthers fans dreamed of for much of last year, as Young was sacked 62 times and the team headed to a 2-15 record.
This Panthers offense – albeit against a Buffalo team that rested all of its starters – had nothing on the ghostly offense of 2023. Young constantly hit the vacant receivers, starting with an 8-yard throw on his first play out of a double tight end set.
His most impressive play involved one of his new weapons. Canales decided to strike on fourth-and-3 from Buffalo’s 46-yard line. Young ran left to keep the play alive and then threw the ball to wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Johnson snatched it up and gained 17 yards.
Young also had a 21-yard pass to Adam Thielen. And even the one sack he took wasn’t a bad play — Young evaded three tacklers before returning to the line of scrimmage and technically committing a zero-yard sack. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards, a touchdown, and a QB rating of 140.6. The other 15 yards of the drive came on three consecutive runs by Chuba Hubbard.
In other words, it couldn’t have gone much better. Young, Canales and the first team’s attacking team give this performance an A+.
It was just one drive, of course. Young was replaced by Jack Plummer for Carolina’s second march (since backup QB Andy Dalton once again didn’t play). And let’s not forget that those 85 total yards came against Buffalo’s reserves.
Still, that was something different.
And while it won’t always be that way, that one drive and those 12 plays will give Panthers fans plenty to dream about over the next two weeks until the games actually start.
