Numbers drop Bryce Young in NFL quarterback rankings despite great effort vs. Saints

Carolina's young quarterback did his part, but his traditional passing stats were underwhelming for the 10th time this season.

Dec 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) walks off the field after losing against the New Orleans Saints 20-17 in the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

It is fair to point out that Bryce Young's numbers for the 2025 season are not all that impressive. He has had some exceptional games along the way, but overall his production has been lower than average for an NFL starter this year.

Sometimes stats can be deceiving, though - and if you were only looking at the box score you might assume that Young put in a dud in the Carolina Panthers' latest loss to the New Orleans Saints.

It seems that may have been the case for his position in the newest quarterback power rankings from CBS Sports, which have young at No. 21, down two spots from last week.

Dec 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) runs the ball against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at Caesars Superdome. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"Bryce Young totaled his 10th game this season with under 200 yards passing (163 yards) and a touchdown on 15 of 24 passing in a surprising upset defeat against the New Orleans Saints when a win could have given Carolina a key leg up on the sagging Buccaneers. Now, the Panthers will need him to elevate his level of play with two games against Tampa Bay in the final three weeks of the season."

Young was passed on the list by two rookies - Tyler Shough (+1) from the Saints and Jaxson Dart (+3) from the New York Giants.

In this case Young played better than his numbers suggest, but eventually every quarterback is what his numbers say he is. Young has probably done enough to get his fifth-round option picked up this coming offseason, but not enough to learn a long-term contract extension - certainly not at the $50+ million a year most starters are averaging on new deals nowadays.

The Panthers have to do more to support his development, including finding new weapons at wide receiver and tight end - and they desperately need head coach Dave Canales to call more aggressive gameplans consistently - not just once every three or four weeks.

If they can do those two things, then Young should be able to start producing respectable NFL numbers on a consistent basis.

However, if Young hasn't taken a big step forward one year removed from now, the Panthers will be well within their rights to start looking elsewhere for their next franchise quarterback.

- Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI -

Panthers drop in NFL power rankings after befuddling loss to Saints

Carolina Panthers studs & duds from disgusting loss to the Saints

Major takeaways from Panthers’ embarrassing loss in Week 15

Bryce Young said more in 2 minutes than the Panthers did in 60