The ugly truth about Bryce Young's disastrous start

The QB had a dreadful statistical day.

Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws a pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

After a month of pretty excellent football, capped off by being the highest-graded PFF QB in Week 16, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had an absolute dud on Sunday.

The entire offense was abysmal, but they didn't get any help from the quarterback, either. In fact, Young was so bad, he did something no one has done since 1980.

Bryce Young's dubious start explained

Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) calls the snap count at the line of scrimmage against the Seattle Seahawks during the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bryce Young was 14/24 on Sunday for 54 yards. He had no passing touchdowns and an interception, though he did add one rushing score.

Bryce Young had 54 passing yards on 24 pass attempts today.

That's the fewest yards by a QB with 24+ pass attempts since "David Woodley" back in ... 1980.

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 28, 2025

According to Ian Hartitz, not a single NFL QB has attempted 24 or more passes and failed to crack 55 yards since David Woodley in 1980. That is not exactly a good quarterback or someone Young will want to be compared to.

How did this happen? There were a myriad of factors that led to Young's awful day, including his own struggles. The interception was bad, and he missed on a couple of throws.

The other major part was the offensive playcalling. So many times, the Panthers appeared to send a bunch of receivers deep, and when none of them were open, after going through reads, Young had to check down.

When he did that, the Seahawks flew to the ball and made the tackles for short gains. The film may paint a different picture, but given that Young had some time and clearly went through progressions and has been playing well, it's likely that the Seahawks' secondary was just locking everyone down.

On a few occasions, the pass-catchers also let Young down in big ways. Tetairoa McMillan had a long drop on one of Young's best passes of the day. Mitchell Evans dribbled a ball instead of catching it. Jalen Coker was interfered with on a potential big connection.

Dec 28, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks to throw a pass as offensive tackle Taylor Moton (72) blocks Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams (99) during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

But at the end of the day, Young was bad. The offense was pretty timid and had a bad day. The running game was nonexistent, so the Seahawks could really sit back in coverage and not allow anyone to get open. Ultimately, though, it's a day worth flushing and moving on from for all parties involved.

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