Dan Orlovsky says Bryce Young was 'really impressive' in preseason debut

Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young got three series of work in during the preseason opener against the New York Jets Saturday.

Young, though part of a 27-0 shutout defeat, completed 4-of-6 passes for 21 yards while routinely seeing pressure in his face. ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky came away impressed by Young’s cameo, praising him for his ball placement and composure in the pocket amid the pressure.

"I thought Bryce Young was really impressive and he played really fast but was never in a hurry" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/3zNsZMLQt5

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 14, 2023

“I thought Bryce was really impressive,” Orlovsky said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday. “I thought just how smooth Bryce operated was impressive, you know like played really fast but never in a hurry… Against a defense and a defensive line in the Jets, he took some shots… I think my takeaway is they need some guys on third down to go be winners. But Bryce was really impressive just smooth operation wise.”

Following the game, Young made it clear he felt fine physically after taking multiple hits.

“Yeah… part of the game,” Young said. “Football is a physical sport. It’s part of the job description. You’re gonna get hit—and, again, that’s the game we play. It’s part of the job and you know that’s coming. That’s not something I think of. Can’t let that affect your decision-making or what you’re going through.”

Bryce Young stands tall after taking multiple shots in preseason opener

The Panthers’ offensive line shouldered much of the blame for not protecting Young to their fullest ability, and held a team meeting with offensive line coach James Campen. Veteran offensive lineman Cameron Erving slammed the unit’s performance, saying they didn’t meet their standard as a collective.

“Camp called us in, and we just talked,” Erving said. “We had to keep it real with each other; the s— wasn’t good enough. Top to bottom, it doesn’t matter if it was preseason, regular season, or offseason. The s— was not good enough at any level, from any position, myself included, especially myself. All we can do is come back, try to regroup, and f—ing fix it.

“We know we did not play to our standard. So all that needed to be said was that s—‘s not good enough. It’s not about who’s in it or who’s called it; it just needed to be said and was said. … We’ve got to just attack it. A lot of things on tape we’ve got to fix. So that’s the goal going into next week.”

Upon reviewing the tape, head coach Frank Reich said that Young’s demeanor stood out after taking the big hits.

“Just feel, accuracy, the way he worked through progressions,” Reich said Monday, via Panthers Wire. “I like the aggressive throw down the field to DJ [Chark]. I liked the little short completion in the right — that man-to-man coverage — you need to make some of those completions, those tough coverages… Liked his demeanor when he got walloped… but I thought his demeanor on how he bounced back from that — I thought that was all good.”