In just his fourth NFL start, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young set a career high in touchdown passes (3) against the Detroit Lions, which remains tied for Young's career high to this day.
His 61% completion percentage in that game is just below his career percentage on 61.3%. His 82.1 passer rating perfectly matches the 82.1 rating he has for his career.
Despite those eerie similarities, this is not the same Bryce Young the Lions faced in 2023.
The version of Young the Lions played against in 2023 was a rookie, after being selected #1 overall. He entered that Week 5 game with as many TD passes as interceptions (2), and averaging 188 total yards per game. Young had fumbled once in each of his first three games, and was sacked a staggering 11 times.
The Lions won that Week 5 game in dominant fashion 42-24. The Lions led by as many as 25 after a Jared Goff rushing TD to start the fourth quarter. Young then led the Panthers to two 75-yard TD drives, throwing for 101 of his then-career high 247 passing yards. The Lions added a TD in between for good measure to prevent any real comeback attempt.
What looked to be an encouraging step forward for Young in the Lions game turned out to be anything but. Young struggled the remainder of 2023, as the Panthers finished with a 2-15 record, bad enough for the #1 overall pick in the following draft. Only the Panthers traded that pick to the Chicago Bears to move up to take Young in 2023, with the Bears using that pick to take QB Caleb Williams.
Panthers fans watched in despair as 2023 #2 overall pick, C.J. Stroud, led the Houston Texans to a playoff win en route to Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowl nod. Young's struggles continued in 2024, where he was benched for Andy Dalton early in the season. Talk of Young being a bust and the Panthers making a catastrophic mistake not taking Stroud were kicked into overdrive.
But Young returned to the starting role in Week 8 for the then 1-6 Panthers showing some signs of improvement. Young threw at least one TD pass in every remaining game for a total of 15 passing TDs to go along with six INTs. Young eclipsed the 100.0 passer rating plateau in each of the Panthers' final three games, leading the Panthers to a 4-6 record in those ten games after returning, with three of those wins coming in overtime.
Young carried that momentum into 2025, with a career-best 23 TD passes to 11 INTs to help the Panthers win their first division title since Cam Newton's MVP season and subsequent Super Bowl appearance in 2015. Young had a shaky first playoff game against 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams, but had the Panthers leading 31-27 with 2:39 to go before Stafford did what Stafford does and led the Rams to a game-winning drive.
Young and Goff could bring the Sunday night fireworks
On Sunday, the Lions will face Young for the first time since 2023. Young is now experienced and playoff tested. The Panthers are 1-2 despite Young, who has thrown for a league-leading 939 passing yards. That Detroit area code yards per game (313) is a whopping 124.8 more yards than his career best 188.2 entering this season.
Young also brings with him eight total TDs, with two INTs, and zero fumbles. His efficiency still leaves a bit to be desired, with a completion percentage of 59.5%, but he's leading a Panthers offense that's scoring 29.67 points per game.
The haphazard Lions secondary will have their work cut out for them against this new-look Young. A Young that is posed to set new personal bests in yards and TDs so long as the secondary continues to give up career performances as they've had all season.
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There's a reason why this game got tapped for Sunday Night Football when the schedule was released. The playoff-hopeful Lions against the defending NFC South champion Panthers makes for a marquee matchup, and both offenses playing at an extremely high level has only validated the decision.
Between the Lions' secondary and the Panthers' injuries on defense, Young and Goff are in position to have a QB duel for the ages in primetime. Something that felt unfathomable watching Young struggle in 2023 and parts of 2024, but it goes to show that sometimes, you just got to let things play out.
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