For the first time since Sept. 15, Bryce Young lined up at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. But even though the former Alabama All-American did a “fantastic job,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said Young isn’t getting his spot back as the Panthers’ starting quarterback.
The first player picked in the 2023 NFL Draft, Young was the Carolina QB as a rookie. But two games into the 2024 season, Young got benched in favor of Andy Dalton.
After going 2-16 with Young as their starting quarterback, the Panthers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 36-22 in Dalton’s first start of 2024 on Sept. 22. Dalton went all the way in a 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week, too.
But with 4:23 remaining in Carolina’s 36-10 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Young took the field for Dalton.
“Just good to be out there taking advantage of the reps,” Young said. “Obviously, it’s great whenever you get to see the field. Just want to take advantage of it.”
Young completed 4-of-7 passes for 58 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and had an 8-yard run on the Panthers’ final possession, which ended when he was sacked on fourth-and-2 at the Chicago 8-yard line.
“Just saw it as an opportunity there,” Canales said about playing Young. “… Wanted to get him in there to get some live reps, and he did a fantastic job playing with energy, extending plays, finding some completions down the field, which was all fantastic.”
Dalton completed 18-of-28 passes for 136 yards with no touchdowns and one interception on Sunday.
Asked if he would consider changing quarterbacks again with the Panthers at 1-4, Canales said: “Andy will be our quarterback next week.”
Young was among the 40 former Alabama players who got on the field on the fifth Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.
Two other former Alabama players were involved in the Carolina-Chicago game:
· LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) started at defensive end for the Panthers. Ray made one tackle.
· A’Shawn Robinson started at defensive end for the Panthers. Robinson made four tackles.
In the other Sunday games:
Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Jets 17
· Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore) was designated as a game-day inactive. Mosley missed his third straight game because of a toe injury.
· Vikings kicker Will Reichard (Hoover) made his five kicks to remain perfect during his rookie season. On Sunday, Reichard hit a 54-yard field goal with 7:41 left in the first quarter to start the scoring, connected on a 53-yard field goal as Minnesota took a 20-10 lead with 12:07 left in the fourth quarter and made a 41-yarder to close the scoring with 3:07 remaining. Reichard also made two extra-point kicks.
· Vikings outside linebacker Dallas Turner made one tackle.
· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles.
Baltimore Ravens 41, Cincinnati Bengals 38 (OT)
· Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (St. Paul’s Episcopal) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Bengals safety Jordan Battle made one tackle on defense and one tackle on special teams.
· Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton did not record any stats.
· Ravens guard Darrian Dalcourt is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Ravens. Henry ran for 92 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and had a 4-yard reception. Henry became the 27th player in NFL history to score 100 touchdowns and the 32nd player to run for 10,000 yards. But his biggest play of the game didn’t achieve a milestone. In overtime, Henry broke a 51-yard run to the Cincinnati 6-yard line, and Baltimore kicked a field goal on the next snap to win the game.
· Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey made two tackles and intercepted one pass. On a second-and-15 snap at the Baltimore 33-yard line, Humphrey intercepted a pass by Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow intended for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase at the Ravens 28-yard line with 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. Humphrey’s second interception of the season was the 15th of his career.
· Eddie Jackson started at free safety for the Ravens. Jackson made one tackle.
Houston Texans 23, Buffalo Bills 20
· Will Anderson Jr. started at defensive end for the Texans. Anderson made one tackle for loss and registered two quarterback hits.
· Texans linebacker Christian Harris is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Bills safety Kareem Jackson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III did not record any stats.
· Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers did not record any stats in his NFL debut. Buffalo elevated Shavers from the practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Henry To’oTo’o started at linebacker for the Texans. To’oTo’o made six tackles.
Jacksonville Jaguars 37, Indianapolis Colts 34
· Colts defensive tackle Raekwon Davis made one tackle.
· Colts safety Ronnie Harrison is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones dressed for the game but did not play.
· Colts center Ryan Kelly was designated as a game-day inactive. A neck injury kept Kelly out of the lineup for the second straight game.
· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars.
· Jaguars running back Keilan Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Miami Dolphins 15, New England Patriots 10
· Patriots wide receiver Javon Baker was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore is on the non-football illness list and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) did not record any stats.
· Dolphins defensive end Da’Shawn Hand made two tackles and registered one quarterback hit.
· Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) started at outside linebacker for the Patriots. Jennings made eight tackles and shared a sack.
· Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle had four receptions for 46 yards.
Washington Commanders 34, Cleveland Browns 13
· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made four tackles, recorded one sack and registered two quarterback hits.
· Browns cornerback Tony Brown made one tackle on special teams. Cleveland elevated Brown from the practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Browns guard Javion Cohen (Central-Phenix City) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper had four receptions for 60 yards.
· Browns running back Jerome Ford ran for 47 yards on nine carries and had three receptions for 2 yards.
· Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Browns. Jeudy had a 16-yard reception.
· Browns tight end Cameron Latu is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis made a career-high three tackles and broke up a pass.
· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made four tackles.
· Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson ran for 18 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Robinson was limited in practice by a knee injury, but he opened the scoring with a 4-yard run with 2:40 left in the first quarter to extend his touchdown streak to three games, then went over the goal line from 1 yard out as Washington took a 17-3 lead with 3:11 remaining in the first half.
· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive tackle for the Browns. Tomlinson recorded one sack.
· Jedrick Wills Jr. started at left offensive tackle for the Browns.
Denver Broncos 34, Las Vegas Raiders 18
· Broncos linebacker Drew Sanders is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and not eligible to play.
· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made three tackles and intercepted two passes. Surtain returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown as Denver tied the game at 10-10 with 8:43 left in the first half. The return was the longest pick-six for an Alabama alumnus in NFL history. In the fourth quarter, Surtain intercepted a pass at the Las Vegas 39-yard line to set up the Broncos’ final touchdown.
· Broncos cornerback Levi Wallace made one tackle and recovered an onside kick in the fourth quarter.
Arizona Cardinals 24, San Francisco 49ers 23
· Cardinals offensive tackle Jonah Williams is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) started at inside linebacker for the Cardinals. Wilson made six tackles, intercepted one pass and recovered one fumble. Wilson intercepted a pass by San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy at the 49ers 25-yard line with 11:52 left in the third quarter to set up a field goal. Wilson recovered a fumble at the Arizona 9-yard line with 6:11 remaining with the Cardinals trailing 23-21. The interception was the second of Wilson’s career. He intercepted Denver quarterback Brandon Allen in the Cleveland Browns’ 24-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Nov. 3, 2019, in his rookie season. The fumble recovery was the first of Wilson’s career.
Green Bay Packers 24, Los Angeles Rams 19
· Rams tight end Miller Forristall is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Packers. Jacobs ran for 73 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries and had a 21-yard reception. Jacobs scored the game’s first points on a 2-yard run with 6:45 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was the first for Jacobs with Green Bay. He joined the Packers in March as an NFL free agent.
· Xavier McKinney started at safety for the Packers. McKinney made three tackles, intercepted one pass, broke up another pass and recovered a fumble. McKinney picked off Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford on the opening possession of the second half to extend his streak of games with an interception to five with the Packers and six in a row when his final game with the New York Giants in the 2023 season is included. His 28-yard return started Green Bay on its way to a touchdown. On the Rams’ previous possession in the third quarter, McKinney recovered a fumble and returned it 7 yards to the Packers 30-yard line.
New York Giants 29, Seattle Seahawks 20
· Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal dressed for the game but did not play.
· Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed made two tackles and registered one quarterback hit.
Dallas Cowboys 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
· Steelers cornerback Anthony Averett is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made two tackles.
· Minkah Fitzpatrick started at safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick led Pittsburgh with 10 tackles and broke up one pass.
· Najee Harris started at running back for the Steelers. Harris ran for 42 yards on 14 carries and caught two passes for 35 yards.
Week 5 started on Thursday night, when the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 in overtime.
Week 5 concludes on Monday, when the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. ESPN will televise the game.
