Panthers QB faces immense pressure. Can Bryce Young navigate his most critical game yet and secure a playoff-clinching victory?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had their share of quarterback issues recently. It has gotten to the point where coach Todd Bowles has said the team "needs to be better at the quarterback position."
Baker Mayfield hasn’t been close to his best over the past two months, but the quarterback on the other side of Saturday’s do-or-die regular-season matchup between the Bucs and Carolina Panthers has some question marks as well.
Former Alabama star Bryce Young has had an up-and-down run as a pro thus far.
His first two years were erratic after the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner went No. 1 overall to the Panthers in the 2023 draft.
Young experienced growing pains in as a rookie, ending that season with almost as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (11) and a completion percentage under 60.
Young improved in his second season, completing almost 61 percent of his passes and throwing 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions.
But Young has never been in a situation in which his team has to win to make the playoffs.
Carolina isn’t technically in that spot Saturday. A Tampa Bay win and an Atlanta Falcons win over the New Orleans Saints still wins Carolina the NFC South — it’s the closest thing Young’s had to it.
Ahead of the Panthers' division-rival matchup at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, NFL writer Eric Edholm said Young has made strides in each of his pro seasons, including this one.
"(Young) has had his share of successes in 2025, leading four fourth-quarter comebacks and six game-winning drives. Young's calm in the face of pressure has been a welcome sight for a team that has been weighed down for years by poor QB play."
He doesn't spare Young from legit criticism.
"But he also has yo-yoed back and forth the past few weeks with good and bad performances, matching Carolina's win-loss-win-loss pattern for the past eight games."
Against the Bucs in Week 16, Young completed 21 of 32 passes for 191 yards and two TDs in the Panthers' 23-20 win. He also scrambling effectively against pressure.
NFL.com also listed Mayfield as one of the game’s key storylines, writing that "Tampa Bay has scored 20 or fewer points in five of its past six games since Week 12, after having only done so twice from Weeks 1 through 11.
"If the Bucs are going to win this game, they'll need better play from the offense."
Panthers-Buccaneers is set for 4:25 p.m. ET on Saturday on ESPN, ABC, and NFL+.