Panthers Want More 'Consistency' From Bryce Young in 2026: 'Play Full Games'

Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young plays his best football when he's trailing in the fourth quarter. 

The 2023 first overall pick has 12 game-winning drives since coming into the league.

While the Panthers love that their starting quarterback is calm under pressure, they want Young to play full games in 2026.

"Really, the message for Bryce, the message for the whole group is consistency," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "And what we've seen is. We can play really great quarters at times. Can we play full games consistently week in and week out? That's my messaging. That's the goal. And consistency means: if we can play this well down the stretch of a game, or we score more points in the second quarter, how about we be consistent with all of it across the board? And that includes the first quarter. Guys, we don't need to wait around to kind of feel it out and see what's happening. Let's go get it.

"We know what we're doing, and the confidence and the knowledge of how we're trying to employ things really just leads to fast football, and we have all that. We have guys that have been in the system, guys that know what they're doing, and so my expectation is the guys come out and play great from snap one to the end."

It's fine to come back and win games here and there, but having to do it over and over again is not a recipe for long-term success. 

Young finished the 2025 season with 3,011 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He led the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.

Young enters this season with 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in a Carolina uniform. He's 14-30-0 as a starter and 0-3 in Week 1. 

"For us, every year is a new year," Young said. "We want to have an emphasis on starting fast; we've talked about that a lot as a team, as a unit, as an organization. But we know that that comes with work. It's about just having the best week we can possibly, going into the game with as much clear communication and being on the same page as we can. So we're excited for that challenge again. We just want to go 1-0 every week. Coach talks about it. It's the most important game of the season because the next one — that's always his mantra."

The Panthers host the Chicago Bears to begin the 2026 season. 

Let's see if Young can get his first Week 1 NFL win.