Panthers legend pinpoints Bryce Young's 'coming-out party' during resurgent stretch

Star QB Bryce Young had a ton of good games down the stretch of the season for the Carolina Panthers. One could argue that he had eight good games, one mediocre game, and one bad contest in his final 10 starts after returning from the bench. It inspired hope for a team that had been hopeless for years.

Jake Delhomme, former Panthers QB turned radio broadcaster for the team, was on the call for a lot of those games, and he believes he knows when Young truly arrived in the NFL.

Former Panthers legend highlights when Bryce Young arrived

The NFL world sort of joked (prior to the first loss of the season the week before) that a rested Carolina Panthers team led by a resurgent Bryce Young would end the Kansas City Chiefs' winning streak. The NFL world then joked that they'd put Kansas City on a losing streak, and they almost did.

Young tied the game with a scoring drive with a minute and a half left. Of course, any amount of time is too much for Patrick Mahomes, who admitted after the 30-27 win that Young gave them a scare. It was that game that signaled to Jake Delhomme, who was in the radio booth, that Young was here.

Oct 6, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers former quarterback Jake Delhomme speaks during the Hall of Honor ceremony during halftime against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

“I thought the Kansas City game was Bryce’s coming-out party as a quarterback,” Delhomme said via Joe Person of the Athletic. “There were multiple times that game Chris Jones had free runs on him or was coming after him. And just watching Bryce stand in the pocket, absorb those hits, making the throws, that’s what I noticed.”

There's no telling what would've happened had the Panthers made it to overtime. The Chiefs went 15-2 and are in the Super Bowl for a reason: they know how to win games. Still, it is encouraging to have seen such inspired play against such a vaunted opponent, and it indicated that better times were ahead.

Delhomme admitted that he didn't think the Panthers, who'd been playing well heading into that bye week and had won two straight before the Chiefs game, were playing "thriving" teams, so it wasn't as impressive. But pushing the back-to-back defending champions who are now in the Super Bowl again to the brink was impressive.

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