CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Carolina Panthers fell to 1-7 on the season after a disappointing 27-13 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts, leading to further scrutiny of rookie quarterback Bryce Young. 

Young finished the game with just 173 yards and three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Those defensive scores made the difference in the game, wasting a strong effort from the Panthers defense in holding the Colts to 198 total yards of offense. 

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Locked On Panthers host Julian Council joined WCNC Charlotte’s Nick Carboni to discuss the loss and while the result mostly falls on Young, Council isn’t ready to panic and give up on the No. 1 overall pick. 

“I’m not panicking but we understand why a lot of people are panicking today,” Council said. “We thought we were past this whole C.J. Stroud vs. Bryce Young thing, but it’s never going to go away, at least until Bryce Young proves himself to be a better player, at least a franchise player here in the NFL.” 

Stroud was sensational for Houston Sunday, throwing for 470 yards and 5 touchdowns in a thrilling comeback win over Tampa Bay. Stroud has wowed NFL fans and pundits with his performance this year, leading to considerable angst among some Panthers fans that the team drafted the wrong quarterback. Council says it’s impossible to grade Young at the moment considering his supporting cast. As a reminder, the Panthers traded away wide receiver D.J. Moore as part of the package to draft Young first overall. They also shipped Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco for a collection of draft picks. McCaffrey has been sensation for the 49ers, scoring a touchdown in 17 consecutive games, tying the longest streak in NFL history. 

Carolina’s also struggled to protect Young, who has been sacked 26 times. That’s the third-most in the NFL, tied with Denver’s Russell Wilson. Council says it’s clear that Young is feeling the pressure and perhaps trying too hard, leading to bad decisions on the field, such as turnovers. 

“The turnovers today were killer,” Council said. “You look at the score 27-13, the direct result of two pick-sixes by Indianapolis is why the Carolina Panthers lost, or at least a part of why the Panthers lost. Bryce Young picked a bad day to have a bad day. And understand, in each of those situations, he’s trying to make a play under duress, which has been the constant them here in Carolina all season long … It’s unfortunate to see, because the guy is clearly trying hard. You thought he was progressing but as Frank Reich said on Sunday, the offense took a step back.” 

The good news for the team is they won’t have long to think about it as they’re back in action Thursday night against D.J. Moore and the Chicago Bears. 

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