The Carolina Panthers have already broken a couple of franchise records over the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
Not good ones, mind you, but records, nonetheless.
Josh McKinney
Assistant Sports Editor
Through two games, the Panthers have allowed 73 points (the most points allowed through two games in franchise history).
Additionally, Carolina has scored a total of 13 points in Weeks 1 and 2 (the fewest points scored through two games in franchise history).
And while I would have preferred for Monday’s announcement to be that owner David Tepper was stepping down — as I have stated before, he has been the common denominator in the team’s struggles since 2018, a time period during which the Panthers have posted an NFL-worst 31-70 record — at least something was done when it was revealed that second-year quarterback Bryce Young has been benched in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. It’s a move that simply had to be made after Carolina followed a 47-10 road loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 8 with a 26-3 home defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday.
After trading away top wide receiver DJ Moore and four draft picks for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Panthers selected Young — a former Heisman Trophy winner out of the University of Alabama — instead of Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. I was not a fan of the pick but decided to give Young a chance to prove me wrong.
So far, he has done anything but.
Over the first 18 starts of his NFL career, Young has completed 346 of 583 (59.3%) passes for 3,122 yards and 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He has been sacked 68 times as well, and while you can blame a less than stellar offensive line for some of that, he also tends to hold onto the ball too long at times.
Most importantly, the Panthers are 2-16 in games started by Young. They also lost the only game started by Dalton a year ago, but the 36-year-old passed for 361 yards and two TDs, while Young’s career high in passing yards is 312 and he has thrown for multiple scores just twice.
At this point, Carolina has nothing to lose by making a change under center. Young simply isn’t getting it done, and instead of showing signs of improvement during his sophomore season, he has regressed.
Dalton isn’t likely to turn the Panthers into a playoff team because they have plenty of other question marks as well. However, I do have hope that the offense will get better and at least prevent the defense, which kept things close against the Chargers for most of the first half, from having to be on the field for nearly two-thirds of every game (thus far in 2024, Carolina has possessed the ball for just over 47 of a possible 120 minutes).
Young seems like a nice guy, and he had a great career at Alabama, but the college game is vastly different from the NFL. His 5-foot-10, 204-pound stature doesn’t help matters, especially when you consider that the average height of an NFL QB is 6-3 and the average weight is 225 (according to worldmetrics.org).
Dalton stands in at 6-2 and weighs 220 pounds, and he is also in his 14th year as a professional signal caller. For his career, Dalton has completed 3,408 of 5,455 (62.5%) passes for 38,511 yards (26th all-time, seventh among active players) and 246 TDs (28th all-time, sixth among active players) against 144 interceptions in 170 games.
The man they call the “Red Rifle” due to his red hair and proficiency in the short passing game has started 163 of those contests, posting a record of 83-78-2. And although benching Young was something first-year head coach Dave Canales didn’t want to have to do, the 43-year-old told reporters on Monday that he believes Dalton “gives us the best chance to win” Sunday’s road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
As for Dalton, he said that he “wasn’t sure if I was going to get another opportunity to start again” when he signed a two-year, $10 million deal during the 2023 offseason to serve as Young’s backup. But he’s excited to have another chance to prove himself as an NFL starter.
“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “I’ve been on both sides of it, and it’s hard. It’s hard on everybody. But for me, I’m looking forward to it.”
Given the sad state of the Panthers in recent years, I am also looking forward to it. The last time I was this excited about the franchise was probably when Cam Newton returned to the team in the middle of the 2021 season, and now Carolina finds itself turning to a QB who was a member of that same 2011 draft class.
“When he (Canales) told me, it’s like one of those deals, like, ‘OK, this is one thing I’ve been praying for, another opportunity,’’’ said Dalton. “I’ve got it.’’
A lot of the Panthers’ fans also prayed for this moment, and it happened.
Let’s see what the “Red Rifle” can do.
Josh McKinney is assistant sports editor at The Paper. He can be reached at 828-445-8595 or josh@thepaper.media.
