Panthers sticking with Dalton after Young shines late in loss

CHICAGO — The Carolina Panthers trailed 36-10 with 4:15 remaining in Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears when Bryce Young took his first game snap since being benched after an 0-2 start.

On his first play, he bought time with a scramble and found running back Miles Sanders open for a 27-yard gain.

He did a “fantastic job,” coach Dave Canales said.

But Canales said Andy Dalton will remain his starter for next Sunday’s NFC South game against the Atlanta Falcons (3-2) at Bank of America Stadium.

He gave no timetable for when Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, might get an opportunity to start again for the 1-4 Panthers.

“It’s about just getting back to the basics, looking at this film, attacking the areas that we need to improve upon, and then just going to the next game and just getting that focus right back to work and capturing the great work,” Canales said in explaining why Dalton would remain the starter.

The first-year NFL head coach, who was hired to turn Young around from a 2-15 rookie season, said the decision to bring the former Heisman Trophy winner in for mop-up duty had as much to do with protecting Dalton with two offensive line starters out with injuries as anything else.

“It’s a hard situation,” Canales said. “I wanted to get Andy out of there and just give Bryce an opportunity to just continue to put some good football in there while we had time.”

The Panthers lost center Austin Corbett to a biceps injury and right tackle Taylor Moton to an elbow injury in the second half. Both will underdo MRIs on Monday. Corbett left the locker room with his arm in a sling.

With less experience on the line and the Panthers already playing catchup before the injuries, Dalton, 36, was under a lot of pressure. So Canales went with Young, who used his fresh legs to make a few plays.

“He did a fantastic job, playing with energy, extending plays, finding some completions down the field, which is all fantastic,” Canales said.

Dalton had his worst performance in three starts this season. He completed 18 of 28 pass attempts for 136 yards and an interception and had a 61.0 passer rating. He had ratings of 123.6 and 83.3 in his first two starts.

Young completed 4 of 7 attempts for 57 yards and an 84.2 rating in his brief appearance.

“It was good to be out there, to take advantage of the reps,” said Young, speaking to reporters for the first time since the week he was benched.

Asked whether after his performance and watching Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the top pick of the 2024 draft, have the best game of his brief NFL career, he wanted a chance to be the starter again for the Panthers, Young said, “That’s out of my control.”

“I’m big on trying to control what I can control,” he added. “That’s big-picture stuff I feel like God controls and is out of my hands.”

Young and Williams are close. They talked some before the game. Williams then completed 20 of 28 pass attempts for 304 yards and a career-best 126.2 passer rating after ranking 30th in the league (72.0) through the first four games.

Canales has been adamant that he still believes in developing Young to one day be a franchise quarterback. He has said there are no plans to move Young before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, even though sources have told ESPN that other teams have inquired about the quarterback.

But Sunday was all about protecting Dalton to have him ready for next week.

Beyond the two offensive line starters who could miss time, Panthers outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney left in the first half because of a shoulder injury and did not return.

With four defensive starters already out with injuries, including linebacker Shaq Thompson (Achilles) and Derrick Brown (knee) on injured reserve, the lack of starter-caliber players has become debilitating.

Clowney said it was hard to lift his shoulder Sunday, but he hopes his injury won’t keep him out of the lineup next week. Overall, he said, the injuries have become “frustrating, just frustrating.”

“I’ve never been a part of that in my life, so it’s hard to explain,” he said.

Young had never been benched, but he’s not letting it publicly frustrate him. Asked what the biggest adjustment has been for him the past three weeks, he smiled and said, “Honestly, it’s a long list.”

“But you know, I’m taking it in stride,” he said. “It’s different for sure, just for me in my life. … No matter what my role is I’m proud to be a part of this team and play with my teammates.”