Panthers HC Dave Canales speaks on decision to play Bryce Young in Week 5

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was on clean-up duty in Week 5.

The tail end of Sunday’s 36-10 loss to the Chicago Bears gave us our first look at Young since his benching from three weeks ago. He temporarily got the reins back from starter Andy Dalton with just over four minutes remaining in the game, leading the Panthers on a nine-play, 64-yard drive on their final possession.

Following the defeat, head coach Dave Canales was asked if we wanted to build Young’s confidence by playing him against some of Chicago’s backup defenders in the waning moments of the blowout.

“That really wasn’t the thought,” Canales replied. “It really goes back to just some injuries that we had. Really getting Andy out of there, protecting him in that situation and then giving Bryce a chance to get out there and play football.”

Carolina’s offensive line saw a couple of their hog mollies go down. Both center Austin Corbett and right tackle Taylor Moton, who hadn’t missed an offensive snap since 2019, made early exits from the contest.

Young completed four of his seven passing attempts for 58 yards. He also picked up an 8-yard gain on a scramble.