Despite a slew of injuries to key players, the Carolina Panthers appeared to be headed in the right direction just a couple of weeks ago. But since then, their starting quarterback Bryce Young has imploded under the weight of their atrocious pass protection—which has been a problem all season.
Early on, the offense was able to mitigate that pressure with exceptionally quick releases and an effective use of run-pass options. Opposing defenses have caught up, though, as Young was taken down 10 sacks and turned the ball over four times in the last two games—both of which were humiliating losses.
Earlier this week, former NFL offensive lineman and current CBS Sports analyst Damien Woody called out Carolina's trench—imploring the unit for better protection
of their quarterback . . .
"[The Panthers] have to do a better job protecting Bryce Young." @damienwoody #scoreboard pic.twitter.com/XBJZqad3FV
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 30, 2026
The most troubling part about this ongoing disaster is that the Panthers' front office has gone out of their way to invest resources into this unit. No other team is paying their offensive line more, and Carolina also used a first-round pick this year at offensive tackle.
Following Thursday night's ugly loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Panthers fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero—a move that was probably long overdue. Their defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley was also dismissed.
While it's a good start, it would be a mistake to stop there.
According to Joe Person of The Athletic, the team is pondering some changes along their offensive line. That's a pretty smart approach, especially considering that the Denver Broncos defense is up next for this struggling Panthers offense.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Former NFL offensive lineman blasts Panthers for poor protection of QB Bryce Young
