EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Bryce Young threw a touchdown pass before leaving with an ankle injury, Jaycee Horn had two interceptions of Tyrod Taylor after New York benched Justin Fields and the Carolina Panthers beat the winless Jets 13-6 in a snoozefest Sunday for their third straight victory.
It marked the first time since Young was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 that the Panthers (4-3) have a three-game winning streak with him as their
starting quarterback — but he was unable to finish this one.
And now the concern is if Young will be out for any extended time.
Young went to the locker room late in the third quarter, appearing to walk with a slight limp. The Panthers announced his return was questionable before ruling him out.
Andy Dalton took over with 34 seconds left in the quarter when Carolina got the ball back leading 13-3 following an interception by Horn in the end zone. Young was sacked by Jowon Briggs for a 12-yard loss on his last snap before the Panthers punted.
Young was 15 of 25 for 138 yards and a touchdown before leaving. Dalton was 4 of 7 for 60 yards as the Panthers moved above .500 for the first time this late in a season since they started 5-3 in 2019. It was also Carolina's first road win this season after dropping its first three.
Xavier Legette had the best game of his career, catching nine passes for 92 yards and a score.
Meanwhile, the Jets (0-7) remained without a victory under Aaron Glenn, who's the first coach in franchise history to lose the first seven games of his tenure. The Jets also joined the 1996 and 2020 squads as the only teams to start 0-7.
And now they, too, have a major question at quarterback.
With the Jets trailing 13-3 in the third quarter, Fields was benched in favor of Taylor. Fields was 6 of 12 for 46 yards in the first two quarters, unable to do much with the offense with top wide receiver Garrett Wilson out with a knee injury. With the Jets needing a spark in this one, Glenn decided to make the change.
Taylor jogged onto the field with the offense to loud cheers from the fans at MetLife Stadium.
The benching came after Fields was just 9 of 17 for 45 yards in the Jets’ 13-11 loss to Denver last Sunday in London, when New York had a franchise-worst minus-10 net yards passing.
Taylor moved the offense with a little more success than Fields, but his two interceptions short-circuited drives. Taylor was 10 of 22 for 126 yards.
On the Jets' opening drive, Glenn chose to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the Panthers 33 rather than try a 51-yard field goal. But Fields' throw to Josh Reynolds sailed incomplete for a turnover on downs.
The Panthers took advantage and moved the ball, capping an efficient drive with a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald to go up 3-0.
New York got its own turnover on downs early in the second quarter when the Jets stuffed Rico Dowdle on fourth-and-1 at the Panthers 49.
On third-and-2 from the 41, Fields took off for a first down and gained 4 yards but was walloped near the head by Nick Scott as he slid. Fields popped back up, but his Jets teammates took exception to the shot — which was penalized for a late hit — and there was pushing and shoving on the field.
Fields, who missed Week 3 with a concussion, was taken into the medical tent to be checked for a head injury and replaced by Taylor. Nick Folk kicked a 34-yard field goal to tie it at 3 a few plays later.
Fields was OK and checked back into the game on the Jets' next series.
The Panthers took a 10-3 lead with 1:11 left in the opening half when Young ran away from pressure and found Legette for a 3-yard touchdown. The drive was helped by Tetairoa McMillan's 11-yard catch on fourth-and-3 and a 26-yard catch-and-run by Chuba Hubbard to set up the score.
Panthers: LB Princely Umanmielen left twice with injuries, but returned after both.
Jets: CB Sauce Gardner and RB/KR Kene Nwagwu both left with concussions. ...DT Jay Tufele injured a knee and didn't return.
Panthers: Home against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday.
Jets: Head to Cincinnati to face the Bengals next Sunday.
—
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
