When Bryce Young was benched after two games last year, people questioned whether he needed a fresh start on another team.Young is still in Carolina and has the Panthers in the playoff chase.The third-year quarterback threw for a franchise-record 448 yards and three touchdowns against the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense to lead the Panthers to a 30-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.Carolina (6-5) trails the Tampa Buccaneers (6-4) by a half-game in the NFC South, and the two teams will meet twice in the final three weeks.Both have tough road games in Week 12. The Panthers face the San Francisco 49ers (7-4) on Monday night. The Buccaneers take on the Los Angeles Rams (8-2) on Sunday night.Young bounced back from an ankle injury in the first quarter against Atlanta to lead a comeback from a 21-7 deficit a week after a disappointing 17-7 loss to New Orleans. If Young continues to play at this level, the Panthers could end Tampa Bay’s streak of four consecutive division titles.“To me, it’s just my expectation for Bryce to take every game plan and every opportunity and attack it, and he’s been doing that,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. ”(Sunday) was a day about the whole group. It was about all the guys, the time on task, the side conversations in practices, working together in between drives and really just making it come alive. Finding the completions where they were and extending the play when he needed to. I’m just proud of the way that he just pushed through for his teammates. It just speaks volumes to the type of leader that he’s continued to grow into, and to be able to be available for his guys and find a bunch of different guys in different situations.”Canales was two games into his first season as an NFL head coach when he decided to bench Young for veteran Andy Dalton. Young, the 2023 No. 1 draft pick, struggled in his rookie season under former coach Frank Reich. He needed more time to learn Canales’ system, watch from the sideline and grow as a player. Canales helped develop Geno Smit …
