JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Carolina鈥檚 Bryce Young has yet to play an NFL season opener he would like to remember.
Young turned the ball over three times, including , in a 26-10 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday. He now has two touchdowns and seven turnovers in three openers, all blowout losses.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all talking about looking in the mirror,鈥 Young said. 鈥淥f course, no one in this locker room, including myself, is looking, 鈥榃hat about this person?鈥 It鈥檚 all about what you can control, what you can improve because that鈥檚 all as individuals we can control.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to look at the film, see what there is to grow on from my standpoint, and that鈥檚 going to be the mentality for everyone.鈥
Young completed 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards, with a . But the mistakes overshadowed anything he did right against the Jaguars.
His first interception was thrown into heavy traffic after rolling right. His fumble came at the end of a scramble that included an awkward slide. And his second pick ended any chance the Panthers had of rallying late.
Young also made a head-scratching throw out of the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-1 play from the 5-yard line and slammed his helmet to the ground afterward.
鈥淛ust competitive nature,鈥 Young said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all. Probably can do a better job. I鈥檒l definitely do a better job of body language there, but that鈥檚 on me. Just competing, and that鈥檚 all.鈥
He declined to blame the play call or a snap that seemed high.
鈥淛ust something that was going on with not executing,鈥 he said. 鈥淎gain, when you鈥檙e not executing, it sucks. But I have to do a better job as a leader.鈥
It was the third time in as many years that Young turned in a dud of a performance to open the season.
He completed 13 of 30 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns in a 47-10 loss to New Orleans in 2024. And he completed 20 of 38 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 24-10 loss to Atlanta in 2023.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing. We鈥檙e all disappointed,鈥 second-year Carolina coach Dave Canales said. 鈥淔elt really good about the work we put in. It did not show up today. That was something I was able to talk to the group about.鈥
Canales talked to his team about finishing plays and drives. The Panthers rarely did either in Jacksonville, before or after a lightning delay. Young surely will get much of the blame, but Hubbard was held to 57 yards rushing, and Hunter Renfrow and Xavier Legette combined to catch just five of 13 targets. Carolina鈥檚 defense struggled to stop the run again and failed to put much pressure on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
鈥淏ack to work,鈥 Canales said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 go back to work. Really to Bryce, to the whole group. We have to look in the mirror. This is where we鈥檙e at today. The film is the truth. This is where we鈥檙e at. Do we have the character to keep pushing forward, to keep getting better at our fundamentals?鈥
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