Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had his first truly bad game of the 2026 campaign on Sunday, in a 43-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As usual, his pass protection collapsed all around him throughout the game. But this time around, he was unable to mitigate all that quick pressure by getting the ball out quickly and efficiently as he has most of the year.
In the end, Young went 14-of-27 for just 163 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a season-low 6.8 QBR. He also took five sacks and coughed up a fumble.
Following that gruesome outing, some folks are back on the fence about Young. That includes Ben Solak at ESPN, who called Young the most confounding player in the league in his latest seven thoughts column.
Solak writes:
We're
3½ years into Young's career, and I still don't know exactly how good this guy is. There is no individual player in the league, let alone quarterback, who confounds me the way Bryce Young confounds me. Who are you? . . . I know he's getting better, but I'm not sure he's getting better enough fast enough. I know he can make plays under pressure, but I'm not sure he makes enough big ones. I have one job (literally, this is my job), and I still can't figure out what to do about Bryce Young.
We just don't get it. Every quarterback has bad games from time to time, especially against division rivals who know them better than anyone else. And this performance should not move anybody off of the tremendous improvement that Young has shown thus far.
Considering the poor pass blocking and injuries at wide receiver that Young has had to deal with, his production has been fantastic in 2026. If Young has three more games in a row like this, then there will be a case for regression.
For now, there's no real cause for concern—so long as Young can bounce back.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: ESPN calls Panthers QB Bryce Young NFL's most confounding player
