Moral victories aren’t really a thing in the NFL, but the Carolina Panthers have to be extremely happy with how competitive they were on Sunday afternoon against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Here are some of my initial thoughts on the Panthers’ 30-27 loss.

In recent weeks, Panthers head coach Dave Canales has held off on naming the starting quarterback for the next game for as long as possible. Even after winning two straight games heading into the bye week, he neglected to name Young the starter immediately after Germany’s win over New York.

I think it’s safe to say that after today’s performance, he’s the man moving forward. Even if he wasn’t that sharp, it probably makes the most sense to keep rolling him out there to see what you have in him so Dan Morgan knows what to do this offseason.

Young looked like a completely different quarterback today compared to what we’ve seen over the last year and a half. He threw the ball with conviction, went through his progressions, set eyes on the ball, put it where only his man could get it and made good decisions with the football all afternoon. That touchdown against David Moore in the third quarter was a thing of beauty.

He finished the game completing 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown. The day he had against Green Bay last Christmas Eve was impressive, but this was his best game in my opinion as it was played against the No. 5 defense in the league. He went toe-to-toe with the best quarterback in the game and made big plays in crucial time. It doesn’t get more impressive than that.

The rookie running back made his NFL debut after missing the first 10 games of the season while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last year at Texas. Canales said earlier this week that Brooks would not be on the pitch count, but that he was virtually non-existent on offense. He had just two carries for seven yards. I didn’t expect him to come right in and run the ball ten or twelve times, but I thought he might have half of that and a few catches.

With Jalen Coker (quad) ruled out, the Panthers needed someone to step up and compliment Xavier Legette and Adam Thielen. Moore did that, and then some. He had his best single-game performance since catching four passes for 95 yards against the Miami Dolphins in 2021. He seemingly came up big every time the Panthers had to move the sticks or hit into the end zone. A fun breakout game for the veteran.

The Panthers will be back home next Sunday to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kickoff is set for 4:05 PM EST.

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