What looked like a sure-fire win for the Panthers turned into a full-blown disaster in week 10. Carolina entered in week 10 with high hopes but stumbled hard, falling to New Orleans in an embarrassing 17-7 loss. A 5-4 team losing to a 1-8 squad? That one will stay with the Panthers for a long time. The offense completely fell apart, and the defense had its own share of struggles. But the Panthers head coach, Dave Canales, isn’t taking this one quietly…he’s already found someone to blame for the loss.

“Making sure that we are advancing our pass team so that we could be a balanced offense and making sure that we know yes, we can run the football, but there are going to be days like this where a team is really stopped and they play as well,” Canales said in the post-game press conference. “We have to be able to adjust and go to that next phase in our game. This is not about Bryce; this is about me and our group.” Though it usually comes to the players who are on the field to take accountability but Canales isn’t all wrong here.

It’s the responsibility of the head coach and the coaching staff to put the team in a better position to attack through the air, especially when the opposition’s defense is good at stopping the run game. And it’s not the talk, the numbers say it all.

Carolina managed just 102 passing yards, averaging a rough 3.8 yards per attempt, while the backfield produced only 73 yards. But let’s be honest, if the offense racks up just 7 points with just 1 touchdown, the quarterback will be called out.

Bryce Young takes the heat after a brutal loss

Bryce Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 124 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. It was another quiet game for him, coming right after last week’s season-low 102 passing yards against the Packers. The Panthers’ offense mostly relied on Rico Dowdle, who carried the load with 18 carries for 54 yards and scored Carolina’s only touchdown, standing out as the team’s lone bright spot. Despite these underwhelming outings, while Canales is trying to save his quarterback from the fire, Young has shown accountability for the loss.

“Really bad ball, 100% my fault. That’s on me, I’ve got to be better… Bad read on zone coverage, good play [by the] corner, but I’ve gotta do a better job, it’s on me,” he said. “I take accountability. I gotta be better. We gotta execute. We gotta do better stuff. It’s on us. Give credit to that defense. It’s a good group; we respect them. But we gotta execute, and it starts with me.”

Carolina’s offense struggled heavily, converting only three of nine third-down attempts. They ended the game with just 175 total yards and two turnovers, showing how tough the day was for their offense. Now is not the time to save anyone from being bashed. Canales and Young both have to step up into a leadership role.