Bryce Young Was Pressed About the MVP Chants. His Response Says Everything

I have to give Alex Zietlow credit because he tried. Actually, he tried more than once to get Bryce Young to talk about those MVP chants.

Young heard them. Everybody in Bank of America Stadium heard them. But when Zietlow asked him about it after Carolina's 32-26 win over Detroit, Young started talking about the crowd, the atmosphere, and winning the game. Pretty much anything that didn't involve talking about himself.

Zietlow wasn't letting him off that easy. He went back to it and asked if hearing MVP chants gives him any extra juice or anything like that. I thought maybe this time Young would give him a little something.

Nope.

Young basically said the chants don't give Carolina any extra yards or points. I'm sitting there watching this thinking it's fine for Young to admit that was pretty cool. Nobody is going to hold it against him.

But he wouldn't do it, and for some reason, I loved that.

After Everything He's Been Through, He Still Won't Make It About Him

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) runs against Detroit Lions during the first half at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Young has taken a lot of flak since the Panthers drafted him. Some of it was deserved because he didn't play well. Some of it went way too far, especially when it felt like everybody had already decided what kind of quarterback he was going to be after two seasons.

He got benched. He heard people call him a bust. Every week seemed to bring another question about what was wrong with him, what was wrong with the offense, or whether Carolina had completely screwed up the No. 1 pick.

And Young never really gave anybody much then, either. He didn't start blaming the offensive line or his receivers. He didn't make a bunch of excuses. There were actually times when I wanted him to show a little more emotion because I couldn't understand how somebody could stay that calm while everything around him was going poorly.

Now look at where we are.

Young just threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns against Detroit. The Panthers won on Sunday Night Football, they're 2-2, and the same quarterback who was getting called a bust not that long ago had a stadium full of people chanting MVP at him.

If anybody has earned the right to enjoy that for a minute, I'd say Young has.

He still won't do it.

I've spent the last couple of weeks writing about Young's numbers, and they're really good. He's thrown for 1,268 yards and nine touchdowns through four games, and I just wrote about his MVP chances. I don't need to make that argument all over again.

This isn't really about whether Young can win MVP anyway. It's about how he handled people chanting it.

I Think I'm Starting to Understand Why Guys Believe in Him

I've always known Young was quiet. Everybody knows that by now. But I think there's a difference between being quiet and just not needing everything to be about you.

That's what kept sticking with me after watching Zietlow go back to those chants. Young had every opportunity to enjoy the attention, especially after everything he's dealt with since he got here, and he kept finding a way to bring it back to winning football games.

Maybe some people want more personality from their quarterback. I get it. There have definitely been times when I've wanted Young to show a little more of it myself.

But maybe this is his personality.

He's pretty much the same guy when people are calling him a bust as he is when they're chanting MVP. I don't know how you fake that, especially when you're the quarterback and every good or bad thing this team does seems to come back to you.

A lot has changed around Bryce Young over the last month.

Bryce Young really hasn't.

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