The Bryce Young era is officially underway in Carolina. However, the excitement of his debut was filled with anxiousness and uncertainty from a Panther fanbase, and even an organization that was unsure if defensive star Brain Burns would take the field Sunday. Burns is seeking a new contract, one which he certainly deserves and the Panthers would be wise to give it to him sooner rather than later.
Burns suited up Sunday, and came out like he had a message to send to the Front Office. He had a strip sack on the first drive of the game and the second drive contributed to another sack and blew up a Bijan Robinson run play to end the second drive. Burns finished the game with 7 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. The defense as a whole played well overall, a couple of turnovers by the offense put them in a precarious position giving the Atlanta offense short fields which they took advantage of.
On the offensive side of the ball, it was an up and down day. After a promising first drive the Panthers were stopped on 4th down Young was late on 2 separate in-breaking routes and veteran Safety Jessie Bates II picked him off twice. Miles Sanders added a lost fumble and the 3 turnovers were too much for them to overcome. Young was able to throw his first TD in the NFL when he connected with Hayden Hurst on a 4-yard pass. Bryce Young finished 20-38 146 yards 1 TD and 2 INT.
-Austin