Can Dave Canales & Bryce Young improve the offense for the Carolina Panthers?

The Carolina Panthers have been underwhelming offensively as a whole this season. The third year of Bryce Young and second season of Dave Canales as head coach has led to mixed results.

Despite returning their top nine offensive lineman from last season, their top two tight ends from 2024, adding Rico Dowdle, who finished 12th in the NFL in rushing in 2024, to go alongside Chuba Hubbard (who finished 8th in 2024), and adding Tetairoa McMillan with the eight overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the offense has been below average for much of the year.

The Panthers have not scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games since Weeks 5 & 6 winning 27-24 against the Miami Dolphins and 30-27 over the Dallas Cowboys, and have failed to score 20-plus points eight times this season. Carolina is just 2-6 in those contests. On the season, the Panthers are 28th in the NFL in scoring at 18.9 PPG.

The Panthers fall in the bottom third in the NFL in several key areas. Carolina ranks 25th in yards per play (5.1 YPP), 20th in third down conversion rate (37.93%), 26th in red zone TD percentage (51.28%), and have only seen 35.6% of their offensive possessions end in a score (touchdown or field goal), which is 24th in the NFL.

Most passes dropped since 2023
1. Mahomes - 92
2. Lawrence - 79
3. Herbert - 76

8. Allen/Stafford/Goff - 64

Most passes thrown away since 2023
1. Bryce Young - 95 (!)
2. Mahomes - 81
3. Hurts - 77

7. Allen - 59
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) December 17, 2025

Canales has said repeatedly that the Panthers want to be a running team. Carolina is 15th in the NFL in yards per carry in the run game at 4.4 yards per attempt, and have just eight rushing scores on the season despite running the ball at the eighth highest frequency of any team in the league, rushing the ball on 46.85% of their offensive plays. Their eight rushing touchdowns are tied for sixth fewest in the NFL, and 14 individual players in the NFL have at least eight rushing scores on the season.

But what has plagued Carolina is the lack of cohesion between the run game and the passing game.

Young has thrown for over 200 yards just three times this season despite 13 starts on the year, and the Panthers have scored less than 20 points in seven of those games. Carolina is 2-5 in those contests. Young is 28th in the NFL in yards per attempt (6.5 YPA) of all quarterbacks who have played in at least eight games this season, below the league average of 7.0 YPA. Young’s completion percentage is just 21st in the NFL at 63.3%, below the league average rate of 64.3%.

The passing game for the Carolina Panthers is not a consistent enough threat to scare opposing teams, and as a result, teams focus on stopping the run game against Carolina, daring the Panthers to beat them through the air. Plus, opposing defenses don’t have to worry about the deep passing game of Carolina. Young’s intended air yards per pass attempt (which measures the average depth of target, whether the pass is completed or not) is just 6.5, which is 29th in the NFL, well below the league average of 7.8.

Is it a Dave Canales and play calling issue? Is it a Bryce Young issue? The answer can be both. Young hasn’t consistently elevated the players around him, nor has been below average in too many key areas, especially in pass attempts 10 to 19 yards downfield. And Canales has quickly abandoned the run at times and doesn’t scheme open some of his playmakers in the passing game to generate yards after the catch.

But after two seasons together, not much has popped offensively between Canales and Young that shows the two together can reach an elite level needed to win in the postseason, let alone make the playoffs.

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