Panthers coaches worked primarily on Young’s footwork and drop backs while he ran the scout team after being benched in late September for Andy Dalton. For more than a month, Carolina coaches helped “to refine Young’s footwork and drill into him the importance of urgency in the huddle and pre-snap operation, which Dalton helped demonstrate.” Coaches addressed Young’s habit of jump-passing, which had proved disastrous over the first two games of the season. The result was a far more confident second-year quarterback who showed immense improvement over the final seven games of the 2024 season. Only six quarterbacks had a higher completion rate over expected than Young From Week 11-18. He ended the year with a 251-yard, three-touchdown outing against the Falcons in an upset victory for Carolina. Young, against many odds, has positioned himself as the Panthers’ clear Week 1 starter in 2025.

At last, our questions have been answered. Canales and the Panthers hope to “finish strong” against the Falcons in Week 18’s contest between two underperforming NFC South teams. Young threw for 203 yards and two scores in last week’s loss to the Buccaneers and has thrown for 771-6-3 while completing 60.3 percent of his passes in his last four games. Young still has a lot to prove as he prepares for the upcoming offseason. A strong finish against the Falcons will go a long way of boosting his confidence heading into 2025.

Young’s date with the Bucs had the makings of a shootout in the first quarter. Tampa Bay scored on their opening drive and Young returned the favor with a touchdown toss to Adam Thielen. The Panthers would then go three-and-out on their next three drives. By the time Young threw his second touchdown, also to Adam Thielen, the Bucs had 27 points on the board. Tamp Bay then shut out the Panthers in the second half. The second-year passer made a few perfectly-placed deep throws to Thielen but couldn’t get anything going with his rookie receivers. Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette combined for 63 yards. Young was far from perfect in this game, but the lack of weaponry was also noticeable. Young will look to close out his season on a high-note versus the Falcons in Week 18.