The Panthers earned their first victory on the road Sunday, but celebrations will be a bit muted until they get an update on quarterback Bryce Young’s condition.
Young left the 13-6 win over the Jets in the third quarter after injuring his ankle. The injury came on a sack by Jets defensive lineman Jowon Briggs and Young went into the locker room during the ensuing Jets possession.
Andy Dalton closed out the game at quarterback for Carolina and failed to lead the team to any more points, but that was OK thanks to the play of cornerback Jaycee Horn and the defense. Horn intercepted Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor twice after Young’s departure and the Panthers picked up six sacks of Taylor and Justin Fields over the course of the afternoon.
Fields was benched at the start of the second half after going 6-of-12 for 46 yards in the first half. The move came after head coach Aaron Glenn rebuffed questions about benching Fields during last Sunday’s 13-11 loss to the Broncos and he’ll face postgame questions about the long-term plans at quarterback after this one.
Taylor got a cheer when he entered the game, but three points and two picks didn’t make much of an argument that he’s going to move the needle for the NFL’s only winless team. The defense was an issue earlier in the season, but losing back-to-back games while allowing 26 total points makes it clear that the offense is the current issue for Glenn and his staff to figure out.
Week 8 brings a trip to Cincinnati and the Jets will then have a bye week before embarking on the second half of the season. The Panthers have now won four of their last five games and they’ll try to remain unbeaten at home when the Bills pay them a visit next Sunday.