Bryce Young’s first NFL preseason pass said a lot about who he is and will be as a quarterback.
Young took the shotgun snap in an empty formation. He quickly went through his progressions. Even though New York Jets defensive lineman Solomon Thomas was bearing down on him, Young calmly hit Adam Thielen for eight yards. He took a big hit from Thomas and popped right up. Then on the next play, he completed another pass to D.J. Chark.
Young had a mostly nondescript preseason debut for the Carolina Panthers on a hot Saturday afternoon in Charlotte, a game the Jets won 27-0. The top overall pick of the draft looked poised even though they were his first snaps of NFL game action. Young’s maturity was one of the reasons he was the top pick of the draft, and why the Panthers didn’t waste any time announcing he was their starter. You could see that on Saturday.
He still allowed himself to take in the moment.
“It was surreal,” Young said. “It was the first time starting as an NFL quarterback, it’s still honestly crazy to say. There’s definitely emotions.
“It’s a dream come true for sure. It’s a blessing. It’s crazy to be where I’m at and I don’t take that for granted.”
Young’s preseason debut wasn’t great. He missed a couple of third-down passes, including one on the second series that led to a three-and-out for the Panthers offense when they were backed up inside their 10-yard line. He took a sack on a third down in his third series. Young was under pressure too often and was hit three times, something the Panthers will have to clean up.
“It was lack of execution, starting with myself,” Young said. “There’s things I definitely could have done better.”
But Young didn’t look rattled. He was unfazed by being hit. The moment wasn’t too big for him. It was just a few plays for him to get comfortable with the speed of the NFL. Young finished 4 of 6 for 21 yards before Matt Corral took over early in the second quarter. Young has two more preseason games to go before his first regular-season game at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1.
There wasn’t much to remember from Young’s first preseason snaps. But it looked like he belonged.
The Jaguars have a lot of weapons for Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence got Calvin Ridley involved in his first action in almost two years, hitting him twice for 23 yards. Lawerence had a very nice fourth-down pass to Christian Kirk in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown. He hit Zay Jones on a floated pass to the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion. Lawrence and the starters played only two series but you could see the potential of the offense in that short outing.
The Jaguars defense wasn’t facing Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb or other Dallas Cowboys starters, but it did its job, holding Dallas without points on the two series the starters played.
The test on Saturday wasn’t the best because the Cowboys didn’t play starters and the Jaguars did, but it was still a solid start to the preseason. Jacksonville won 28-23. The Jaguars came on strong late last season to win the AFC South and a playoff game, then added Ridley to the roster in the offseason once his suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy ended. The first look at Jacksonville in the preseason was a positive one.
The Tennessee Titans have one of the more interesting backup quarterback battles this month. They drafted Will Levis in the second round, but Malik Willis is still on the roster. Willis struggled as a rookie in the regular season last year, but he was an exciting prospect. Willis got the start on Saturday against the Chicago Bears. Willis played pretty well. He was 16 of 25 for 189 yards and also ran for 22 yards and a score. An interception and a fumble were concerning, however. Willis is ahead of Levis, who held the ball too long at times. Levis did look the part though, especially with his arm strength. He could have had a great finish but missed an open receiver downfield when the Titans trailed 23-17 in the final minute, then he threw a game-ending interception. Levis was 9 of 14 for 85 yards in Tennessee’s 23-17 loss to the Bears.
The battle is important because the Titans are probably moving on from Ryan Tannehill after this season and they need to figure out their 2024 starter. Tennessee didn’t trade up for Levis in the second round of this year’s draft to have him be their No. 3 for long. But Willis could force the issue by playing well this preseason and keeping the QB2 job. Willis has the lead and probably still does after Saturday.
Other games
Buffalo Bills 23, Indianapolis Colts 19: The big story going into Saturday’s game was the preseason debut of Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, who looked good other than one bad interception. But the best moment became the return to game action for safety Damar Hamlin, who is coming back after suffering cardiac arrest on the field in a game vs. the Bengals last season.
Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens came into the game with a 23-game winning streak in the preseason, an NFL record. Not many of their starters played, with the well-traveled Josh Johnson getting the start at quarterback. The Eagles sat most of their starters as well. We did see Philadelphia’s dominance in the run game. D’Andre Swift had a 22-yard run on the Eagles’ first series as he tries to solidify his role in a crowded backfield. Quarterback Marcus Mariota had a couple runs on the first drive for 16 yards, including a nice run on fourth down to keep a drive alive. Rashaad Penny broke a 10-yard run to start the second drive. Even Trey Sermon got a rushing touchdown in the second quarter. The Eagles had 102 yards rushing on 20 attempts in the first half. Philadelphia will again have a great offense, and a devastating run game will be among the best in the NFL.
Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams: Every year these two teams face off in the preseason and it’s fitting. Rams coach Sean McVay started the trend of not playing any starters in the preseason, and his old assistant Brandon Staley has taken that approach to the Chargers. Though McVay said he might play more starters this preseason than he has in the past, with his team having a lot of young players filling starting spots.
Final thoughts
• Khalil Herbert looked good as he started Saturday’s preseason game for the Bears. He looked quick on his four carries for 15 yards. And Herbert had a great play in the passing game, as he took a short pass from a scrambling Justin Fields and weaved through the defense for a 56-yard touchdown. Herbert has a lot of talent, but also some competition in the Bears backfield. He got the first crack at carries in the preseason, and the Bears have no reason to move him down the depth chart after his performance.
• The Colts couldn’t have been thrilled to see kicker Matt Gay miss a 26-yard field goal. The Colts signed Gay this offseason to a four-year, $22.5 million deal. That’s the largest free agent deal ever for a kicker. Gay has had a very good career and will likely be fine, but it was a rough start for his Colts career.
• Matt Barkley and Kyle Allen are competing to be Josh Allen’s backup for the Bills, and Barkley made a big statement. Kyle Allen got the start, but was ineffective and threw a pick-six. Barkley was fantastic. He completed 14-of-15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a huge day in an important competition.
• The Jets are getting a long look at quarterback Zach Wilson this preseason. He started the Hall of Fame Game and started and played the first half of Saturday’s game at the Panthers. Wilson played well, completing 14-of-20 passes for 123 yards in the first half. Wilson had a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kenny Yeboah off a nice play-action fake just before the end of the first half. The Jets want to feel confident in the former second overall pick as a backup, and Wilson’s preseason has been pretty good so far.
• Jets first-round pick Will McDonald IV had a successful debut. On a third-and-4, McDonald beat the left tackle to the outside and got a sack on Panthers quarterback Matt Corral, forcing Carolina into a punt. If McDonald can have an immediate impact, that will help a Jets defense that made an enormous leap last season.
• The Cowboys know they can depend on Cooper Rush to fill in for Dak Prescott if needed. Even though the Cowboys didn’t have any starters on the field with Rush, he had a typically efficient game. Rush was 10 of 12 for 86 yards.
• Justin Tucker is as good as ever. The Ravens put together a short drive in the last minute of the first half but only got to the Eagles’ 42-yard line. No problem for Tucker, whose 60-yard field goal attempt as the half ended went right down the middle. He’s ready for another season.
