First overall pick Bryce Young saw his first NFL game action on Saturday, but his performance against the Jets ended without any offensive fireworks.
Young played three series and finished 4-of-8 for 21 yards before handing the offensive reins to Matt Corral. The last snap he played ended with a sack by Jets defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson and the Jets were in the backfield often during his cameo appearance in the game. They picked up four more sacks of Corral while overwhelming the Panthers offensive line throughout a 27-0 win.
After the game, the Panthers convened a meeting of their blockers with offensive line coach James Campen to discuss what needs to happen to keep their quarterbacks from being hit. Center Bradley Bozeman and left tackle Ickey Ekwonu both said the performance was not “good enough.”
“Just disappointed. Not what we’re looking for at all,” Ekwonu said, via the team’s website. “He shouldn’t be getting hit at all. That’s on us. We just weren’t good enough today. 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.”
The Jets had one of the best defenses in the league last year, so Saturday’s game was a good test for the Panthers line. Their grade wasn’t a passing one, but they have time to work things out before any scores go on their permanent record.
