3 Carolina Panthers players in desperate need of bounce-back games in Week 2

The Carolina Panthers got precious few good games from players last Sunday. Tetairoa McMillan, Chuba Hubbard, and Jaycee Horn were about it. The rest of the team has to be better this week if they're going to beat the Arizona Cardinals. Three in particular have to get better if the team is going to have any semblance of hope.

An honorable mention goes to head coach Dave Canales. He's not a player, but he also needs a better outing this Sunday. His play-calling and situational management, as well as the players, need to be better for the Panthers to have a shot.

Bryce Young

Bryce Young's outing in Week 1, at least based on PFF grade, some advanced analytics, and how poorly the supporting talent played, was not quite as horrendous as it might've looked. That said, it was still not good, and not nearly what was expected after last season's breakout.

In 2024, a horrid defense meant that Young had to be perfect and outstanding to give the Panthers a shot. After one week, it looks like this season will be more of the same, so the unfortunate onus falls on Young to once again carry this team to any relevance. That starts with a better outing than about 150 passing yards and three turnovers.

Trevin Wallace

Linebacker play is going to be the Achilles heel of this defense. While the defensive line was not particularly good on Sunday, either, when running backs got past the line, they also routinely got past the linebackers, and those players couldn't cover tight ends, either. Trevin Wallace had the worse game out of the starters.

Wallace played nearly 90% of defensive snaps, and if he's going to be a mainstay in the middle of this defense, he has to get better. Having a decent linebacker helps a ton, because they can clean up messes. Right now, Wallace is making the messes, and that's got to change.

Xavier Legette

After a full offseason and some surgery to get Xavier Legette fully healthy, the second-year pro entered year two as the number two option in the passing game. With that opportunity, he did virtually nothing and may have even tanked his own stock with so many mistakes.

He couldn't get his feet in bounds on two passes, one that definitely should've been made and another that easily could have. He also bobbled one on his way out and nearly lost a third catch. On two of his three catches, he tried to get cute and go around defenders, losing yards both times. He's got to be better for this passing offense to be anything but Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan buddy ball.

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