By Harry P McGill ยท September 21, 2026
Two games are not a season. They are barely enough time to finish a decent pot roast. So nobody should start ordering Bryce Young's gold jacket after what we've seen over the first two Sundays of 2026.
But we can stop pretending nothing interesting is happening. Through two games, Young has completed 46 of 73 passes for 648 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He has added another touchdown on the ground and posted passer ratings of 110.3 and 116.3. Carolina is only 1 and 1 because the defense surrendered 59 points to Chicago, but the quarterback has played well enough to win both games.
For a player entering this season with legitimate questions about whether he could become Carolina's long term answer, that matters.
Young averaged 5.5 yards per pass attempt as a rookie. Last season that number was 6.3. Through two games this year, he is averaging nearly 8.9 yards per attempt.
That is a dramatic change in how Carolina is attacking defenses.
Against Chicago, Young threw for a career high 361 yards while averaging 9.8 yards per attempt. He connected with Jalen Coker for a 51 yard touchdown and consistently pushed the football beyond the easy underneath throws that defined too much of his early career.
Against Atlanta, the volume dropped but the efficiency remained. Young completed 23 of 36 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 116.3 passer rating was actually better than the Chicago performance.
That is what progress looks like. The explosive plays are increasing without the mistakes increasing alongside them.
Atlanta was comfortable. Carolina's defense forced five turnovers, the Panthers played with a lead, and Young never had to become Superman.
Chicago was different.
The Panthers defense couldn't stop a nosebleed. Carolina fell behind repeatedly and Young was forced into a game where everyone knew he had to throw. He responded with 361 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and another score with his legs.
Yes, there was an interception and Carolina lost 59 to 37. Nobody gets a parade for producing numbers in a defeat. But the old criticism of Young was that circumstances around him had to be nearly perfect for him to succeed.
Against Chicago, circumstances were dreadful and he still produced.
That is significant.
For years we discussed Young's supporting cast as though we were preparing evidence for a court case. The offensive line was bad. The receivers weren't separating. The scheme changed. The coaching changed.
Those explanations had merit. They also became exhausting.
Now Carolina has Tetairoa McMillan, who followed his strong rookie season with 101 yards against Atlanta. Coker has developed into a legitimate weapon and exploded for 138 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago. Xavier Legette contributed a major play Sunday, and Darren Waller caught two touchdowns in Atlanta.
Young finally has options, and he is using them. Four different Panthers have already caught touchdown passes this season. That tells me the quarterback is reading the defense rather than simply deciding before the snap where the football needs to go.
Young has been sacked four times through 73 pass attempts.
Remember his rookie season? He was sacked 62 times. Some of that was an offensive line problem, but some belonged to a young quarterback who held the football while trying to solve problems that needed to be solved before the snap.
This season he looks quicker mentally. The pocket does not seem quite as claustrophobic. When the first option disappears, Young appears more comfortable moving to the second instead of immediately searching for an escape hatch.
That may be the most sustainable improvement we've seen.
Panthers fans desperately want this story to have a happy ending, which makes two good games particularly dangerous.
We still need to see Young do this over months rather than weeks. We need to see what happens when defenses accumulate film on Carolina's new tendencies. We need to see how he responds to a bad afternoon, because every NFL quarterback eventually has one.
I remember when everyone bought Beanie Babies because two months of rising prices apparently proved retirement was right around the corner. Small samples have been fooling otherwise sensible people for generations.
Two games tell us something. They do not tell us everything.
The question entering 2026 was whether Bryce Young could become a quarterback who helps Carolina win rather than one whose limitations the Panthers constantly have to manage.
Through two games, he has looked like the former.
Six passing touchdowns against one interception. Nearly nine yards per attempt. Back to back passer ratings above 110. Explosive completions. Better pocket management. Production when trailing badly against Chicago and efficient football while controlling Atlanta.
Those are not imaginary improvements.
Young hasn't proven he's a franchise quarterback in two Sundays. What he has done is make the possibility considerably easier to believe.
For the first time in his NFL career, Panthers fans aren't being asked to project what Bryce Young might eventually become.
They're starting to see it.