Panthers vs. Chargers game review: Not his best day

In a game that led to a surprise benching on Monday morning, Bryce Young just wasn’t able to get it done.

The dreadful start to the Carolina Panthers season continued against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in a game that had fans sporting paper bags over their head and chanting for the backup quarterback before the 3rd quarter even began.

Just under 24 hours later, the Panthers have already announced that a quarterback change is coming, and Andy Dalton will be taking over Bryce Young for at least the immediate future. During his Monday media availability, head coach Dave Canales discussed the move, saying that it was decision made after watching the film from the Sunday afternoon drubbing.

That film session must have been startling. After all, Canales went from saying “Bryce is our quarterback” to “Andy Dalton gives us the best chance to win” in just a matter of hours. It was probably coach-speak, or maybe it wasn’t. Regardless, what Canales saw on tape made him feel strongly enough to make the change.

The news itself surprised many, but that is only because of the capital invested and the amount of games played this season, not because of Young’s performance on the field. While Young had a poor first season, there were moments during many games that provided some hope to cling onto. This season, and especially this game, those moments seemed even fewer and farther between, practically non-existent.

Up front, the offensive line wasn’t perfect. However, this is the NFL we are talking about and asking for perfect from any team will leave you disappointed. There might have been some bad reps, but the Panthers front five cleared the “good enough to win with” bar, and then some. The lowest graded Panthers offensive lineman versus the Chargers finished with a pass blocking grade of 61.7 (Damien Lewis), per PFF. Per their grading system a rating in the 60s indicates “average” play. In the 29 pass-blocking opportunities the Panthers line faced, they gave up only 2 pressures, with a 3rd being attributed to Chuba Hubbard.

Unfortunately, Young wasn’t able to take advantage of this protection. The basic stats are rough on their own, amassing only 84 yards passing on 26 attempts for a 3.2 yards per attempt. Digging deeper, there are other advanced stats that help tell the story of what ended up being a turning point in Young’s career.

According to NFL’s NextGenStats, Young had the highest aggressiveness percentage in the league with a 30.8%. As in, he had the highest percentage of attempts thrown into tight windows in the NFL. Young’s throws were also the lowest in average “air yards to the sticks” at -6.8 yards. In simpler terms, Young threw the ball almost 7 yards behind the line-to-gain each time he went to pass – more than 1.5 yards farther than the next closest quarterback.

Other relevant stats include a time-to-throw of 2.25 seconds (2nd lowest in the league) and an average intended air yards of 3 (lowest in the league).

If you saw the game, you don’t need me to tell you what all of that means for what Canales witnessed. It was obvious while watching, but seeing the stats to back it up only makes it more frustrating. What Canales saw, was a quarterback playing like it was a rousing game of hot potato, even with above average protection. Instead of letting plays develop, he saw an uncomfortable quarterback who threw the ball inaccurately, into tight coverage, over as short of a distance and as soon as possible.

If you want a more detailed view of the film itself, I recommend the break down by former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel. There were plenty of moments where Young had an opportunity to exploit favorable matchups or hit open receivers farther down the field than the player he actually targeted.

It was a rough day for Young. One that he’ll have to overcome in order to take the next steps in his development as an NFL quarterback. The offense wasn’t functional versus the Chargers and in order for a rookie head coach to establish his culture, he needed something different. I’m afraid that’s really all there is to it.

I’ll see you in next weeks game review after Panthers take on Maxx Crosby the Las Vegas Raiders with Dalton at the helm. God speed and Keep Pounding, Panthers fans.