Last Sunday was a long time coming for the Carolina Panthers, perhaps especially for head coach Frank Reich and quarterback Bryce Young.
Reich spoke about his rookie passer’s poised performance in the team’s first victory of the season, an emotional 15-13 triumph over the Houston Texans in Week 8. He said the following to reporters after Friday’s practice:
“When we walk onto the field, with a game-winning drive opportunity, we got No. 9 in the huddle—we want everyone on our sideline to feel, we want everyone in the stadium to feel like this is gonna go our way, because he’s our quarterback” he stated. “And I think last week, hopefully, was the start to something like that.
“It’s not always gonna be perfect. We won’t make every one. But I think that’s what we’re lookin’ for. That’s the guy who’s gonna be our leader.”
Their leader completed 22 of his 31 passing attempts for 235 yards and a touchdown while committing zero turnovers. His orchestration of the team’s game-winning drive was particularly encouraing—as the 22-year-old led a 15-play, 86-yard possession that resulted in a walk-off field goal from kicker Eddy Piñeiro.
And even in a low-scoring game, Reich noted why Young’s outing was such a big one.
“Good decisions, good accuracy—those are two big deals,” he later added. “And then, they’re in the clutch. So if I get through the game as a quarterback and I didn’t turn it over, I was accurate deliverin’ the ball and I came through in the clutch in situational football—had a quarterback rating of over 100—those are all signs of good quarterback play.”
