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David Newton, ESPN Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales was impressed by how quarterback Bryce Young handled his first game after being benched, but the reason he switched to Andy Dalton still stands for Sunday’s home game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Andy’s our quarterback,” Canales said on Monday, less than 24 hours after Dalton helped him to his first win as an NFL head coach. “He gives us our best chance to win. That’s the approach as we get ready for the Bengals.”
Dalton completed 26 of 37 pass attempts for 319 yard and three touchdowns in Sunday’s 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
He brought life to a listless offense that ranked 32nd in the NFL the first two games under Young with 176 yards and 6.5 points a game.
The Panthers finished with 437 yards and their second-highest point total in the past five seasons. They had their first game with a 300-yard passer (Dalton), 100-yard rusher (Chuba Hubbard) and 100-yard receiver (Diontae Johnson) since Week 8 of 2022.
“It was just a commitment to just doing things right, hit the first guy in progression, having answers for pressure, and just being able to take advantage of those things when we did,” Canales said of Dalton after reviewing the film.
When asked specifically what Dalton does to give Carolina (1-2) the best chance to win Canales said: “I don’t’ really want to expand on that.”
But he did note the confidence he saw out of the offense that hadn’t been there before, adding, “And when you have confidence, you’re able to trust, and when you have trust you’re able to focus down in and down out. The result comes in good football.”
Young hadn’t played good football the first two weeks. His Total QBR rating of 8.9 was among the worst ever for consecutive games. Dalton had a QBR of 86.9 on Sunday.
But Canales also found positives to say about Young, who wore an earpiece Sunday to listen to the coach’s communication with Dalton.
“He was consistent in his leadership, the way that he connects with the guys, the way that he continued to connect with people, to add that value of the experiences,” Canales said.
Center Austin Corbett noted Young handled the week and Sunday “incredibly.”
“It’s not a fun situation,” he said of the top pick of the 2023 draft. “It’s not anything you’re dreaming of going to the NFL. This is not the moment that you expect.
“But he’s been amazing this entire week, of still being locked in the protection meetings and all the other meetings and in practice, the leading the team there on this sideline, still coming over, talking to us just as he was just seeing stuff on the on the surface there of all the pictures and coverages and run scheme stuff, still acting and treating it as normal.”
Tight end Tommy Tremble agreed.
“He was always upbeat, always giving guys props on the sideline, being like, ‘let’s go,’ being positive, being a great leader on the sideline,” he said. “For us to see that throughout the entire game … we love him for that, man.”
Ultimately, though, the NFL is about production and Dalton produced more than enough to remain the starter as he faces the Bengals, the team he led to five consecutive winning seasons after being drafted in 2011.
It started with bringing fun to the offense.
“Andy just being the veteran guy that he is, just the amount of snaps that he’s played,” Corbett said. “He’s had so many highs and so many lows, being successful there in Cincinnati and jumping around to a handful of teams.
“And for him to get his opportunity again, he was just ready for the moment.”