The Carolina Panthers’ 32-26 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night was supposed to be just the statement victory that gives Dave Canales’ squad more prime-time slots. What they got instead was something even bigger. Their young quarterback, Bryce Young, crashed into the MVP conversation fair and square.
Well, the deafening “M-V-P, M-V-P” chants in Charlotte made it impossible for anyone to ignore him, and essentially shoved him into the MVP conversations long before his numbers from the night could back him up.
Agreed, Young’s name has been far from the MVP conversation and might still be a tough sell for the national media, but Sunday night proved why he actually deserves a seat at that table.
Bryce Young Leads the NFL in Passing Yards, and About 5 More Categories
Young put together a 329-yard, two-touchdown performance against Detroit. As impressive as that is, the crazy part is he’s already topped that mark earlier this season. His season-best came in the very first week vs. the Bears, as Young logged 361 passing yards.
Young nearly cracked the 300-yard mark in Weeks 2 and 3, too, falling just 13 yards shy against Atlanta (287) and nine yards short against Cleveland (291).
That kind of wild production puts him at No. 1 in a stat category most fans wouldn’t have linked to him a year ago.
Four weeks into the season, Bryce Young leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,268.
Also, he leads the NFL in passing first downs (63), completions of 10-plus yards (55), completions of 25-plus yards (13), and deep passing yards (321), and was tied for third in touchdown passes (nine).
And it doesn’t end there. Young also set a franchise record while leading the NFL passing yards board on the night they won over the Lions.
His nine TD passes through the first four games are the highest any Panthers QB has ever thrown.
Bryce Young Felt Shy Talking About Himself and the MVP Chants
Reporters later asked him about the chants point-blank.
“Yeah, I heard it,” Young said with a laugh, but then fidgeted at the lectern because he is not super comfortable talking about himself. “In the moment, you’re just focusing on executing and trying to move the team. Obviously, a huge blessing, the support, and I mean the Bank tonight was electric. They caused some false starts. They made it hard on them, and when the Bank’s rocking like that, we take a lot of pride in that. So I’m super, super grateful for the fans.”
The reporters tried again to get something out of him about his MVP dreams, but it went the same.
“Again, I’ll be honest, in the moment I was just thinking about trying to get the next play off,” he said. “It’s still fresh, so again, obviously the support is a huge blessing. I’m super grateful for this community, for the fan base. It’s been amazing being out here, and yeah, it’s a blessing, but again it doesn’t affect us as a football team.”
“It doesn’t give us any extra yards, any extra points. We have to earn those again. It’s a bye week, so we’ll go back, we’ll do some self-scout, see what we can improve on, get ready for the next week. So, you know, turn the page, and it’s all about football.”
He might not, but the league certainly will. After the performance he put in Week 4, it won’t take long for his name to start appearing in the MVP lists behind names like Josh Allen and Brock Purdy.
Bryce Young’s MVP Chances Soar as Panthers QB Overtakes NFL Passing Yards Lead