CHARLOTTE — Sometimes when you ask his Panthers teammates about Bryce Young late in games, they just kind of laugh.
This might seem unusual for others, but not for them.
The Bryce Young they saw late in the 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, that's the one they see every day, the one they trust in situations like this.
All he did Sunday was lead his 11th game-winning drive in his career, the most of any quarterback in the NFL since he entered in 2023.
And it was his fifth this year, as the Panthers have improved to 7-6 and turned themselves into legitimate playoff contenders (half a game behind the Buccaneers, with two head-to-head meetings with the NFC South leaders left).
But it was the way he did it Sunday, in the rain, after one Monday they'd rather forget.
On fourth-and-2 with an entire stadium on its feet, he launched a 43-yard touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan for the game-winner.
"I would have been thrilled with a first down," Panthers head coach Dave Canales admitted.
That, however, would have lacked a certain drama, and Young continues to show that he's capable of meeting the moment in these kinds of situations (usually the kind when their backs are against the wall).
He does this a lot.
"Sure does," center Austin Corbett said with a grin. "Well, you don't just become the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick for no reason. There's a deep, unbelievable talent in him and his ability. And you'll never suspect it because he's so calm and just that true SoCal kid. Yeah, we're just chilling like it's another day in the office.
"But just his fight, his ability just to lock in and just, just to be a dog is incredible. And the calm demeanor he has in the huddle, and just to see the passion come out in those times of success, I love playing with him. It's amazing."
Of course, it's hard to get much of that out of Young himself.
He grinned and admitted, "It was fun," when asked about the postgame locker room environment, which was jubilant again, six days after it was quiet as they hurried to the plane home from San Francisco.
"I just trust my guys; there's no big conversation, no big hoo-rah," Young said. "I mean, it's not a big speech. I know this guy's always ready.
"It never wavers. It's a competitive league. There's going to be ups and downs, but I know my guys. I know how they work. I know who they are. I know the competitors they are. No matter what, I'll always have confidence in them, so I'll never change."
And that's confirmed. Canales was asked if he saw anything different in Young this week after a 169-yard, two-interception game at San Francisco, and he just shook his head.
"I do not," Canales replied. "No, I see the same type of intentionality. We had great conversations early in the week, and he's like, I'm going through my process and we have our checkpoints. After Wednesday for the base game plan, Thursdays with the third down, Fridays, and then we wrap up on Saturdays, this is how we're going to win this game.
"And we have those conversations, and he's executed it, and he continues to lead out there, which I'm really proud of him for."
But his way of treating these things as a matter of fact is also part of the reason his pulse rate stays low in these situations.
By doing this at the ripe old age of 24 years and 164 days old, he passed Josh Allen as the youngest quarterback in NFL history with 11 game-winning drives. It was also the second-highest passer rating in a single game in franchise history (147.1, trailing only a 153.3 by Cam Newton in 2015),
He also now has a career-high 18 touchdown passes, the most by a Panthers quarterback since Newton's 24 in 2018.
And, his timing is immaculate.
"It's the consistency of play and the thing that I appreciate the most about Bryce is regardless of the moment, regardless of the time in the game or the score, when I put the ball in his hands, he stays the same," Canales said. "He stays even. His eyes are in the right place and then he executes the play and finds his best available receiver. And, and that's the part that I love just being able to count on with Bryce."
The cool has always been there. The performance is beginning to meet it.
"His demeanor, his aura when it comes to late drives, is contagious," McMillan said. "You know, the proof is in the pudding.
He's done it, like you said, 11 times, and so, the fact that your leader on offense can do that, you know, speaks volumes for sure."
