Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws downfield against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Bryce Young named Panthers' biggest loser after appalling debut

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 8:00 AM ET

It was not the Week 1 that anyone in the Carolina Panthers' organization wanted to see. The offense, which was the subject of much hype all offseason, looked like one of the worst units in the entire NFL. Bryce Young regressed after last season's breakout, and he got named the biggest loser of the week for Carolina in a 26-10 loss.

Young had three turnovers (plus a fourth wiped out by a defensive holding penalty) and very few big plays. It resulted in Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski criticizing his disastrous game more than any other Panthers player.

"The last thing the Carolina Panthers wanted in Week 1 was to see quarterback Bryce Young open the season playing like he did to kick off 2024, before Panthers head coach Dave Canales benched the 2023 No. 1 overall pick," Sobleski said.

He continued, "There's no sugarcoating Young's Week 1 performance, though. He barely completed over half his passes for 154 yards, had a woeful 4.4 yards per attempt and a pair of interceptions. His only touchdown pass of the day came with the game out of hand—and just after a pick-six was wiped out by a defensive holding call."

It's worth noting that the pick-six that was wiped out came on a fourth-and-10 play where Young was being taken down in the backfield and had no choice but to flick the ball back-handed in the general direction of a receiver to keep the game theoretically alive, but it was still not a great play.

It was just not a great day. Young didn't look scared or timid like he did before he got benched last year, but there were throws he missed (that he was making last year) and the mistakes were glaring. The entire offense was totally out of synch, even down to the center's snaps to Young.

It was the third straight horrible season opener for the Panthers under Young, and the second straight where the offense was genuinely awful under Dave Canales. Still, Young was unable to put together much positive after last year's genuine breakout.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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