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David NewtonNov 16, 2025, 07:23 PM ET<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013.<\/p>\n ATLANTA — Carolina Panthers<\/a> quarterback Bryce Young<\/a> was writhing in pain as he clutched his right ankle — the one that forced him to miss a game earlier this season — in the first quarter of Sunday’s 30-27 overtime victory<\/a> over the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coach Dave Canales and teammates were out on the field on a knee wondering whether Young would return, particularly after athletic trainers took him straight to the locker room.<\/p>\n Young returned — and then turned in a career day.<\/p>\n The No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, with his ankle heavily taped, passed for a franchise-record 448 yards and three touchdowns. He drove the Panthers in position for the winning field goal in overtime thanks to a short pass that tight end Tommy Tremble<\/a> turned into 54-yard gain. Young almost single-handedly helped Carolina improve to 6-5 and move a half-game behind the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> (6-4).<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n Afterward, Young didn’t hide the amount of pain he was in.<\/p>\n “‘Pain’ is an accurate way to sum it up,” Young said. “You just breathe through the pain.”<\/p>\n Teammates marveled at Young’s return and performance.<\/p>\n “I saw him come back into the game,” said wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan<\/a>, who had eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. ”I’m like, ‘Hey, you good?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah!’ I’m like, ‘Well, next time get your ass up.’<\/p>\n “He’s always level-headed. The moment is never too big. He’s built for moments like this one.”<\/p>\n After a 17-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints<\/a> a week ago, when the Saints shut down the run and dared Young to beat them, some questioned whether he was capable of a big moment like this. While he didn’t light it up with deep shots Sunday, his 36-yard touchdown pass to a struggling Xavier Legette<\/a> on the first drive of the second half ended a streak of 0-for-5 on passes of 30-plus yards and started the comeback.<\/p>\n In the end, Young topped Cam Newton’s single-game Panthers record of 432 passing yards, set in 2011 during a Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Definitely honored,” Young said of breaking Newton’s record. “I have so much respect for Cam, all that he’s accomplished. Hearing that is definitely an honor.”<\/p>\n But, Young reminded: “Individual awards, that’s not what I’m after. They don’t mean anything. I’m grateful that we won. We had the most important stat, that we won.”<\/p>\n It all kept the Panthers in position for a winning season and a shot at the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the year before owner David Tepper<\/a> purchased the team. The schedule gets tougher. Carolina’s next two games are against the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> and the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, both contenders. But the Panthers also have two opportunities remaining against the first-place Buccaneers, so players knows anything is possible.<\/p>\n “That’s exactly the vision and the dream that I hoped for, that if we played complementary football for a long time we’ll put ourselves in position for the finish,” Canales said of being in this position.<\/p>\n That Young finished after the injury didn’t surprise Canales; he said he has seen that resiliency in his quarterback since he took over the team last season.<\/p>\n “He gave me a thumbs up and said, ‘I’m good,'” Canales said of seeing Young walk back on the field without missing a series. “So that’s good enough for me.”<\/p>\n It was a scary moment when Young went down after Falcons corner Billy Bowman Jr<\/a>. stepped hard on the ankle that Young first injured Oct. 19 in a win against the New York Jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I was very upset,” right tackle Taylor Moton<\/a> said. “It hurt my heart to see when he didn’t get back up immediately. … But he’s tough, tough as nails. I’ve never questioned his toughness.”<\/p>\nThe pain of a right ankle injury was eased by 448 yards and three touchdowns — and more importantly, a win — for the Panthers’ Bryce Young.\u00a0AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson<\/p>\n