Bryce Young, quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, continues to focus on his mental approach to football as much as his physical performance. On Sunday, Young led his team to a win against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, marking his ninth career game-winning drive.
Young described his method of “checking in” with himself before and during games to assess what he needs mentally and physically. He explained, “I try to check in in warmups and then really try to check in right before a game starts up, where am I at mentally, where do I feel mentally, physically? Sometimes it’s, ‘OK I feel a little tense. I need to put more emphasis on having fun, on being relaxed.’ Sometimes it’s like, ‘OK, I can tell that I’m relaxed, I can tell that, let me make sure I’m focused.’ So for me, it’s not always every game I’m in the exact same place, have the exact same approach to it. It’s trying to find that kind of flow state, find the right mindset and supplement it from where I’m at on a play-to-play basis.”
Since the start of the 2023 season, Young’s nine fourth-quarter comebacks tie him with quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. His performance during these drives includes completing nearly 76 percent of passes and achieving a passer rating of 115.6.
Panthers head coach Dave Canales praised Young’s leadership: “Honestly, it starts with Bryce, and Bryce is the one that leads the charge,” Canales said. “He’s the one that pushes the urgency in practice, talking to the guys, to be engaged all throughout each day. And it’s that type of leadership that he continues to bring to the team. And if you ask him, he’ll tell you that I just want to win, however or whatever it takes to win; that’s what he would like to do. And he wants to win with his teammates, and I know the guys feel that, and there’s a sense of confidence when he’s out there.”
Despite throwing for only 102 yards against Green Bay last weekend, Young emphasized team success over individual statistics: “All I care about is the team winning,” he said. “Again, there’s been wins, there’s been losses. As a team that’s all I’m concerned about, and again that’s in the past right now; concerned about going 1-0 again this week.”
Young admitted he’s not interested in broad perspectives but instead focuses on staying attuned with himself during games: “That’s something I’ve been working on for a really long time…It’s just individually from a mental standpoint—where am I at and how can I make sure I’m in the right place?”
He also credited consistency as key: “Coach talks about it all the time; it’s about doing right longer…You don’t rise to the level of occasion; you fall back to your training.”
Reflecting on late-game situations he has excelled in since childhood dreams of such moments—Young said: “Throughout sports…it’s what you dream of; it’s the fun part…we get to touch the ball every play…we all like control…But of course…it’s always nice when you get to have that control…”
