Despite final drive, Bryce Young may have played his best half ever in Panthers' loss

In a game that went down to the wire and had the presumptive NFL MVP on one sideline, the story tonight is Bryce Young. The Carolina Panthers QB arguably outdueled Matthew Stafford and put together the most impressive half of his career.

Young willed the Panthers back without much going for them. They had no pass protection, a middling run game, and yet, Young dragged them to the precipice of victory. Had it not been for a late collapse by the defense, they would have won.

The Panthers had 32 seconds and three timeouts to maybe tie the game with a field goal, but they couldn't move the ball. Young couldn't find anyone open, and the one time he did, Jimmy Horn Jr. dropped the pass on fourth down.

Other than that, Young was electric. He had one turnover in the first half as a result of a miscommunication, but he locked all the way in after that. The second half was filled with outrageous throws, smart decisions, and scores.

The quarterback has faced so many questions. Can he be the franchise quarterback? In just 30 game minutes of football, he proved that he can be. Young abused the Rams' secondary despite facing pressure quite often.

His decision-making, processing, and touch were on full display. Those are his best traits, and he used them to maybe the best degree he ever has. Accounting for the stakes, one could argue Young has never played better.

His clutch prowess has been well-documented, but playoff lights are the brightest. Yet, Young never folded. Even on fourth down with pressure and the game on the line, he delivered an accurate throw that hit Horn Jr. in the hands.

The Rams had no answer for him. As 10.5-point road favorites, it's astonishing that Stafford had to lead a game-winning drive in the first place. Bryce Young is the sole reason for that.

The Panthers backed into the playoffs and stood little to no chance unless things went perfectly. They didn't, but Young was good enough to drag them back into it with a little bit of help from Jalen Coker.

The future is bright in Carolina. We already knew that, but now we know that the quarterback is a big part of that. The Panthers may have lost, but Bryce Young might have won.