It was a beautiful August afternoon Saturday in western New York, where Bryce Young put together a picture-perfect touchdown drive and then got out of harm’s way. Carolina Panthers fans will see Young again in two weeks in New Orleans. In his first preseason appearance this summer, the Panthers’ second-year quarterback led a touchdown drive on his only series before giving way to third-teamer Jack Plummer in the 31-26 win at Buffalo.
Young completed 6-of-8 passes for 70 yards, highlighted by an off-platform, fourth-down pass to Diontae Johnson and an 8-yard scoring strike to tight end Jordan Matthews . Advertisement The 12-play, 85-yard drive came against the Bills’ backups on defense. But considering the first-team offense hadn’t scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter of a Christmas Eve loss to Green Bay, the Panthers will take it.
With Young and the starters out early, the rest of the game was a final chance for players on the roster bubble to make a strong, final impression. Several did just that, as addressed in our last 53-man projection before Tuesday’s cutdown day. Quarterback (2) On: Bryce Young, Andy Dalton Notable cuts: Jack Plummer, Jake Luton (on injured reserve) Toughest call: N/A After watching the first two exhibition games, Young and the offense ended the preseason on a positive note.
It’s dangerous to read too much into one preseason series and three weeks of training camp practices. But the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner looked more confident an.