Bryce Young Doubtful to Play against Buffalo Bills on Sunday
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Bryce Young injured his ankle during the Week 7 game against the New York Jets. Young has not practiced at all this week (Wednesday-Friday). As a result, the Carolina Panthers listed him as doubtful. Typically, doubtful represents a 70-75+% chance of not playing on Sunday or Monday.
First off, let us clear the air on this Young rumor straight away.
Andy Dalton slated to start for Panthers with Bryce Young ailing #AndyDalton #NFL
— FieldLevelMedia (@FieldLevelMedia) October 24, 2025
#Panthers #KeepPounding https://t.co/CI8pk7CSzC
Young clearly has not shown anything to indicate that he will play on Sunday versus the Buffalo Bills. Dalton, by the way, threw six passes in all after Young went out for the game with an ankle injury. If one was looking for a nearby bye week, look elsewhere! Carolind does not get their bye until Week 14.
With the status revealed and Dave Canales convinced Andy Dalton will start on Sunday, Buffalo Bills fans and media probably felt quite confident. Bettors and fantasy football owners are a mixed bag on this one.
Fantasy Football Impact Of Young Being Out
Again, the fear even on Sunday was that this could be an injury which might even keep Young out several weeks. Time will tell here but Andy Dalton looks ready to go in practice. Dalton had a run of starts last year but was not overly outstanding. He tossed seven touchdowns and six interceptions in five starts during 2024.
Predictably, Dalton led Carolina to a 1-4 record. Times have changed and Carolina is 4-3 headed into this game. The last three wins have been by a total of 13 points. It is how Carolina plays. Simply, Dalton will have to rely on Rico Dowdle a good deal. Dowdle came back to Earth a little with 17 carries for only 79 yards on Sunday.
The Bills have gotten smoked three times this year on the ground. Atlanta just racked up 210 yards on Monday Night Football (October 13th). If the Carolina offensive line can create a few holes early for Dowdle, Buffalo could be in a good deal of trouble.
No one wants to see what happened on Thursday night where Carson Wentz was left out there to get hit early, late, and often. Besides Young appeared in no condition to play. It would not surprise anyone to see Young out a few weeks.
Dalton can get in a rhythm. The Buffalo defense has not been good over the last several games. Again, Michael Penix topped 200 yards but it was the running game which set up the past. Buffalo ranks among the bottom three teams on the rushing side of the defensive ledger. This could put Dalton in good situations and a decent enough Sunday.
A Few More Final Words
Expecting Dalton to win on Sunday may be too much to ask. However, the quarterback could be a decent streaming alternative in deeper fantasy football leagues. That is the high end of things.
At the worst, the running game will have to carry the load even more for Carolina. Young adds a dimension that Dalton can not. The latter will need a good deal of help on Sunday to get the Panthers into the win column.
