There’s a quarterback out there who may think sacks are, indeed, a quarterback stat.
Just a few days before trying for his second NFL win, Carolina Panthers rookie passer Bryce Young took the lectern following this afternoon’s practice. He was asked about what went down in his first win—and by “what went down,” we mean him.
“It’s always one of those stats that don’t always tell the whole truth,” he said of the six sacks he absorbed on Sunday. “Whenever you see however many sacks, you automatically think of: What is the line doing or not doing? Some of those sacks are on me. I could do a better job of gettin’ the ball out, movin’ throughout the pocket.
“Some of them are coverage sacks. And, again, that’s just me makin’ sure I can do a better job of getting through reads, getting through progressions, checking the ball down when necessary—whatever it may be—gettin’ the ball out of my hands, avoidin’ that. But sometimes, just need to throw the ball away and do a better job of that.”
In addition to the six sacks, Young was touched an additional four times—resulting in 10 quarterback hits throughout the 15-13 victory. The sack and the hit totals were both career-highs for the No. 1 overall pick.
Nevertheless, he persisted. Young also put up the best passer rating of his career (103.6) and orchestrated Carolina’s first fourth-quarterback comeback since 2018.
