Young’s counting stats don’t jump off the page. He completed 191 yards on 21-of-32 passing with two touchdowns. But the QB made some clutch plays late, including a Houdini maneuver to set up the third-quarter TD toss to Ja’Tavion Sanders. With the game in the balance, Young led the Panthers into the game with a perfect 34-yard plunge to Jalen Coker on a crucial third-and-4.
Young has 12 career wins. Only Justin Herbert (13) has more before turning 25 (since 1950). Only Dak Prescott (14), Matt Ryan (13) and Herbert had more in their first three seasons.
“I’m so proud of this group,” Young said. “I’m so proud to be a Panther. Resilience speaks for itself; we just know how to bounce back and refocus, good or bad, we try to wash it away. And you know there’s no risk in us.
“Coach talks about it all the time, get it done. It’s something that we take a lot of pride in that we take into every aspect of who we are as a team, and for us to not just talk about it but walk it, be resilient, go and keep fighting, I wouldn’t want to go to war with any other team.”
The win moved the Panthers into sole possession of first place in the NFC South and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Bucs. Carolina had eight wins for the first time since 2017, when the team last played in the playoffs.
A win over Seattle in Week 17, along with a Bucs loss to Miami, would give Carolina the division title. If not, we head into Week 18 with the division title on the line in the playoffs.
“Yeah, it feels great and it’s going to feel great for the next 24 hours,” Young said. “After that, it won’t matter. This is it, Week 16? That’s not when the playoffs start. So there’s still a lot more work to be done. There’s still a lot more football to be played. Again, the 24-hour rule, we’ll welcome it, but we know we’ve got to refocus.”