Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young battled through injury on his way to franchise history.
Young took an ugly fall and was seen lying on the ground in pain in the first quarter of the Panthers’ matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. He left the field for a moment and went on to set the Panthers’ franchise record for passing yards in a game en route to a 30-27 overtime win. Young told reporters he was in excruciating pain, but fought through it because of his love for the game.
“Pain’s an accurate way to sum it up,” he said of the injury. “[In that situation], obviously, you’re just trying not to look too far. You’re just getting through it. Coaches were around, all the guys are around, so you know, you just breathe through the pain. That’s all it is. You’re just trying to push it, push through it, get back up.”
With 1:30 left in the first quarter. Young dropped back on a 3rd and 6 from midfield. Falcons safety Billy Bowman Jr. came on a blitz and ripped Young to the ground. He stayed on the turf for some time but was eventually able to get off the field. The injury cart came out for him, but Young was able to walk to the locker room.
Young said it was important to get back in the game for his teammates.
“Regardless of what [the injury] is, I want to be out there with my guys. I want to be out there to play. I don’t take this game for granted. The Lord’s blessed me to be here to have this opportunity, and any time that I am able to go, I always want to do that,” he said.
“So, in the moment you’re just working through pain, just get up, get up, walk off, and then after that you’re doing everything you can to get back on the field.”
He got back on the field in a big way. Down 21-10 to open the second half, Young led the Panthers down the field on their first possession of the third quarter, finishing the drive with a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Xavier Legette.
Carolina was unable to capitalize on a Falcons fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Young led a field goal drive at the end of the quarter to make it 21-19. With 1 minute left to play, Young threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to WR Tetairoa McMillan; then followed it up with a 2-point conversion to WR Jalen Coker.
The Falcons forced overtime but went three and out on their opening possession. On 2nd and 9 from the Panthers’ 31, Young found tight end Tommy Tremble on a return route underneath. Tremble ran through four Falcons defenders before linebacker Kaden Elliss wrangled him at the Atlanta 15-yard line. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald hit a chip-shot field goal to win the game.
Young finished the day 31 of 45 passing for 448 yards and 3 touchdowns. That number broke the franchise record for most passing yards in a single game, previously set by Cam Newton in 2011.
Young was humbled at being mentioned in the same breath as the franchise legend.
“It’s definitely an honor. I have so much respect for Cam and all he has accomplished,” he said. “To be able to be mentioned with Cam, it’s definitely an honor.”
He added that he was not chasing individual accolades, and it was more important to get the win.
Young credited his faith for leading him through the adversity on such a day.
“I know that everything’s already written. So, I enjoy times like that to be able to go execute,” he said.
“I grew up, I’m sure most people did, in the backyard, [pretending], ‘oh, we have a two-minute drive to win the game. We’re able to go down and score with zero seconds left.’ And I’m blessed enough to be able to do that in real life.”
