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The Carolina Panthers finally have a winning record (4-3), after grinding out a low-scoring 13-6 win over the winless New York Jets (0-7). But that victory came with a gut punch: quarterback Bryce Young left the game in the third quarter with what looked like a painful ankle injury. And while the Panthers walked away with their third straight win, the news about Young hasn’t exactly been encouraging.

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NFL medical analyst Dr. David J. Chao weighed in after the game and gave fans a mixed update. He doesn’t think the injury is bad enough to land Young on injured reserve, but he does expect Young to miss next week’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills. “He got his Achilles stepped on, and he twisted his right ankle,” Chao said.

“The Panthers have a three-game win streak; they’re doing well. But one has to say that it seems unlikely that he’ll play against the Bills. But I don’t think it’s necessarily bad enough to be an IR, four-week injury.”

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Young headed to the locker room with trainers after being sacked late in the third quarter, and while his return was initially listed as “questionable,” it didn’t take long for that to be downgraded to “out.” He couldn’t put any weight on the ankle, according to head coach Dave Canales.

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In the post-game press conference, he said that the team still doesn’t know how severe the injury is. X-rays came back negative, which is the best news Carolina could’ve hoped for. But his availability for the Bills game is still up in the air.

Before going down, Young had been solid, going 15-of-25 for 138 yards and a touchdown. Coming into Week 7, he was completing under 62% of his passes, with 10 touchdowns and five picks, and ranked 25th in the league in QBR at 42.6. So what would the Panthers’ offense look like without Young?

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Andy Dalton to take QB1 duty in Young’s absence

The Panthers fans aren’t quite used to life without Bryce Young under center. Before today’s ankle injury, Young had only been sidelined for one game because of injury: the Week 3 loss to the Seahawks in 2023, his rookie season. Pretty insane stat line. And he had played every meaningful snap this season for the Panthers.

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But losing Young shouldn’t seem like a crisis, because they’ve got a veteran quarterback in Andy Dalton as a backup. Dalton came in cold after Jaycee Horn’s clutch interception in the end zone late in the third quarter and managed the game well enough to close it out. He went 4-for-7 passing for 60 yards, including a key 33-yard strike to Xavier Legette that helped seal the win.

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“Obviously, Bryce can do a lot of good things with his feet,” Dalton said, talking about his display in the 4th quarter. “But for us, especially when I got into this game, we were trying to milk the clock as much as we could. But I don’t see it changing a whole lot,” Dalton said after the game.

And it’s going to be a high-pressure job for the veteran. The Panthers, suddenly riding a three-game win streak, have some real momentum. Meanwhile, the Bills are reeling after dropping two straight. Dalton’s job is to ensure that the cushion of momentum stays intact.

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