CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than eight minutes into the Carolina Panthers’ first offensive series Sunday, Bryce Young had left one of the NFL’s best defensive players reaching for air.
With a nifty spin move while scrambling to his left, Young eluded Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons and was ready to dive forward inside the Cowboys’ 15-yard line. It was the type of point guard-like play Young has been showing off a lot lately, and it seemed like a sign the Panthers might be headed for good day following three losses to playoff-caliber teams by a total of 12 points.
But just as quickly as Young had ahhh’d the Bank of America crowd, the play — and drive — ended with a groan-inducing blunder. Before Young hit the artificial turf, linebacker Marist Liufau poked the ball away from Young and defensive end Marshawn Kneeland recovered at the 14.
Young had completed 6-of-6 passes while marching the Panthers 72 yards on 13 plays, only to come away with bupkis. And while Panthers’ players and coaches said they had plenty of time to recover from the fumble, it served as a harbinger of things to overcome as Bama Bryce — as Young had been dubbed — morphed into Butterfingers Bryce, at least on this day.
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Young finished with a career-high four turnovers and the Panthers collectively took a step back in a 30-14 loss to a middling Cowboys team missing a number of key starters, not the least of which were quarterback Dak Prescott and All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs.
The loss eliminated the Panthers (3-11) from playoff contention — as if that were a thing — and prompted questions about Young’s status, which had gone dormant as he was leading comeback losses to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles.
First-year coach Dave Canales, who has insisted on evaluating the quarterback position on a week-to-week basis, said Young would start next week’s home finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
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The Week 16 forecast looks a lot like Sunday’s, which is to say somewhat cold (low 40s) by Charlotte standards. Whether it was the conditions or just a bad day, Young seemed to struggle to grip the ball, as evidence by his two fumbles and several passes that seemed to flutter out of his hand.
Canales wasn’t sure if Young’s grip was a factor, but said: “Certainly a couple of throws got away from him.”
Young, who completed 19-of-28 passes for 219 yards and had a 6-yard TD run, shot down the notion that he was having trouble gripping it, saying: “Just have to do a better job with ball security. Can’t put the ball on the floor like that.”
The offensive line, which has been so much better than last season’s MASH unit, turned in its worst game of the year. After allowing just 22 sacks over the first 13 games, the Panthers gave up six against the Cowboys — all of which came in the second half.
It tied for the second-highest total of Young’s career, trailing only the seven sacks he took in last year’s 33-10 loss to the Cowboys in Charlotte. The Panthers fell behind 10-0 in both games, forcing them out of their game plan and allowing the Cowboys (6-8) to rush Young with abandon.
That’s a bad place to be in when lined up opposite Parsons. The three-time Pro Bowler led last year’s charge with 2 1/2 sacks before getting to Young twice Sunday.
“They felt like they had to put some points up on the board. They had to get after it, get away from the run because it wasn’t hitting early on,” Parsons said. “It allowed us to get after the quarterback. That’s what complementary football does.”
That’s why Young’s first fumble was so costly. The Panthers had methodically moved down the field, with Young converting three third downs on completions to running back Chuba Hubbard and rookie wideout Jalen Coker, back after missing three games with a quad injury.
Canales’ first-series play calls featured a healthy balance of run and pass, and included Hubbard’s longest run of the day — a 12-yarder that gave the Panthers a first down at the Cowboys’ 18. On the next play, Young spun away from Parsons like LaMelo Ball — only to see the ball end up on the floor, as he called it.
“When you have a successful drive ending in a turnover, the challenge is you’ve gotta snap back and say, ‘OK, these are the things that led to the success that drive. Can we just return to it?’ ” Canales said. “And we weren’t able to return to it in the course of the first half.”
For 12 plays on the opening series, the Panthers followed Canales’ script to a T. Then the Cowboys tore it up.
“That first drive is what I thought we should have did all game. But once you get out of that rhythm, it’s hard to (find it). Once you get behind, obviously they can tee off,” right guard Robert Hunt said. “They’ve got (Parsons) over there, who’s a really good pass rusher. And everyone knows what we’re doing. … They made the best of their opportunities and got after us.”
Trailing 7-0 two series later, Young tried to thread a pass to a well-covered Adam Thielen on third-and-3 at midfield. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis batted the ball in the air and Eric Kendricks picked it off, leading to a Brandon Aubrey 52-yard field goal that pushed the Dallas lead to 10-0 with 4:05 left in the first half.
After the interception, Thielen came back to the sideline and slammed his helmet on the top of the bench. He was not trying to put it on one of the helmet heaters sticking up from the top of the bench.
Adam Thielen visibly frustrated returning to the sideline after the latest Panthers drive ended in an INT. pic.twitter.com/TPQiYDgNm3
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“Tipped balls and overthrows is how you usually pick (passes),” Thielen said. “I’ve gotta do a better job of running a better route and creating a little more separation.”
The Panthers briefly had life when Young found Coker for an 83-yard touchdown connection, the longest since a Cam Newton 88-yarder to Ted Ginn in 2016 and the sixth-longest in team history.
The Panthers were within a field goal and would get the ball to start the second half. But then Young coughed up the ball again on the first play of the third quarter — the start of a second-half sack parade on Young conjured up memories of the Frank Reich/Chris Tabor era, brief though it was.
Young owned his mistakes — as he has after all of his 21 losses as a starter.
“I’ve just got to look in the mirror,” he said. “Can’t turn the ball over like that in this league, and that’s a hundred percent on me. I’ve got to be better. I let the team down today.”
One dud doesn’t erase the good performances Young has put on tape over the past month. But a couple more might get Canales and the other decision-makers thinking about using their top-5 pick on a quarterback.
“One game doesn’t define you. He’s played great over the last how many weeks,” Hubbard said of Young. “Mistakes are gonna be made. It’s the NFL. It’s not easy. Obviously, people may think you’re supposed to be your best every single week. We all try our best and sometimes it just doesn’t work in our favor. And today it didn’t.”
(Photo of Bryce Young: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
