Bryce Young had a great season with the Carolina Panthers, but it could have been even better. The Panthers fell short to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Round. Following the defeat, the young quarterback is having a hard time letting the game go. He admitted his feelings on the Pivot podcast, revealing what is going on in his mind and how it stings him.

“It sucked, man,” said Bryce Young on the Pivot podcast, via Ryan Clark on X. “It sucked. In the moment, there’s not a lot of consolation prizes… For us, we thoroughly believed this year we can beat anyone. We had some good wins, we also respected it enough to like, alright, it’s the league. We come in, and we’re not humble. When we come in arrogant, we can lose to anyone.”

He further added, “We’re coming in like let’s go to war. It was a great atmosphere, a great environment. We worked for this, we win, or we go home. Let’s go 1-0. Offseason or whatever, you get to reflect we’re capable of, let’s keep going. In the moment, it’s like, we’re this close. If I could have done this better, if I could’ve made this play and everyone’s looking like that, so… It sucks not being able to keep that season going on.”

The Panthers had won only seven games in the last two seasons. So, it was a big deal for them to make it to the playoffs. They were in good form, winning more games than in the last two years. Unfortunately, they collapsed against the Rams, losing 34-31. It was a one-score game, and that’s what keeps stinging the young quarterback. 2017 was the last time the Panthers qualified for the playoffs, and their run was pretty short.

On top of that, the Panthers were playing on home turf. There was clearly an advantage with the home crowd. Also, a few weeks back, the Panthers had defeated the Rams 31-28, ending their winning streak. So, in a way, the momentum was with them. However, not everything goes as planned. Young believes he could have handled a few incidents better, which could have made things different.

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Since it was his first playoff game, there were some jitters. He took some time to settle. Unfortunately, on such big occasions, time is everything. He finished the game with one touchdown and threw one interception. He was also sacked twice, leading to a loss of 14 yards. Despite leading the NFC South, the Panthers collapsed on their return to the playoffs. It is, as Young stated, that there’s no consolation. They will have to try again next year. While speaking about the playoff loss, Young also spoke about his struggle in Carolina, including getting benched for Andy Dalton.

Bryce Young had a humbling experience in his first two years

Bryce Young was the overall No. 1 pick during the 2023 NFL Draft. However, things were not that easy for him. He joined a franchise that had barely made the playoffs in years. And to make it worse, the Panthers won only two games, and Young suffered 62 sacks in that season. Reflecting on his rookie season, he had an honest confession.

“Honestly, getting through that was tougher,” Young said. “I wasn’t really a stranger to expectations. It’s something I’ve always embraced, and I think I’ve been able to do that just by trying to reach onto what’s tangible. Like, for me, what people expect, what people think on the outside, I’m a sports fan, too.”

He later added, “And I’ve had a lot of experience with that, but, yeah, being benched, again, there being so much in the air, I’ve had no experience with that, so yeah, definitely a humbling experience.”

In his second year in 2024, the quarterback was benched for veteran Andy Dalton but regained the starting job in late October after Dalton injured his right thumb in a car accident. He capitalized on his return, closing the season by throwing seven touchdowns with no interceptions over his final three games, including a 123.5 passer rating against the Falcons. This strong finish coincided with head coach Dave Canales’ first year, allowing the two to build a vital, communicative bond despite the team’s overall struggles.

That foundational relationship paid massive dividends the very next year as the Panthers completely flipped the script to capture the 2025 NFC South title. Young orchestrated the turnaround brilliantly, ending his division-winning campaign with 3,011 passing yards and a completion rate of almost 64 percent. He also established a new career-best with 23 passing touchdowns while taking a career-low 27 sacks, proving the previous year’s hardships were a necessary catalyst.

Young has greatly improved in the last three seasons. Although he had his fair share of struggles, it only helped him get better. Getting benched for Dalton also acted like a catalyst in his upward trajectory. Now, the Panthers seem to be on the rise, with a great roster and a capable head coach. It remains to be seen how far Canales and Young’s partnership can take the franchise, especially after the playoff loss in 2025.