Panthers coach Dave Canales discusses the quaterback's ankle injury following Sunday's win against the Jets. By Mike Kaye
Are the Carolina Panthers actually ... good?
Much like “Did you have a short wait at the DMV?”, this is a question very few North Carolinians have had to consider over the past eight years because the answer was so obvious. The Panthers haven’t made the playoffs since 2017, and the DMV can make you feel like you’ll never see the sun shine again.
But the Panthers are seeing a little sunshine right now. They improved their record to 4-3 Sunday with an ugly, did-what-had-to-be-done, 13-6 win over the New York Jets. That means they have won three games in a row. Three! Yes, they did it against largely inferior opposition, but not that long ago, the Panthers were the largely inferior opposition.
The one big asterisk on Sunday’s victory in New Jersey: Panthers starting quarterback Bryce Young left with an ankle injury late in the third quarter and never returned .
Oct 19, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) exits the field during the third quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Young had an ankle injury and did not return. Robert Deutsch Imagn Images
Head coach Dave Canales said he didn’t know the extent or severity of the injury after the game but that he would share a fuller report on Young’s ankle Monday. In the meantime, veteran backup Andy Dalton had to finish the game, and after a slow start, he did so with a 33-yard third-down pass to wide receiver Xavier Legette that sealed it.
Still, the Panthers need Young to play to allow them the best chance to beat a much higher-quality team than the Jets, like the one they will face Sunday at home against Buffalo.
Young accounted for the game’s only touchdown Sunday, on an off-platform scramble and sidearm 3-yard throw to Legette (who was superb). The rest of the game consisted of four field goals (two by each team) and some terrific defense by the Panthers, who had six sacks (more than they had combined over the first six weeks) and two remarkable interceptions. Carolina was also very good on special teams.
And that’s the way a good team does it. If the offense is having an off day — and generating only 13 points will tell you that Carolina was — then everyone else has to pick it up. The rest of the team did, especially defensive tackle Derrick Brown (two sacks, three batted-down passes), punter Sam Martin (four inside the 20 and one booming 68-yarder) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (with his first two-interception game in the NFL).
Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) intercepts a pass during the third quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Oct 19, 2025 Robert Deutsch Imagn Images
So, for now, the Panthers are a team that beats teams they are supposed to (like the Jets) and sometimes teams they’re not supposed to (like the Cowboys). Even though the Jets are now 0-7 and have a train wreck of an offense, this win was significant for several reasons, not the least of which being that it was Carolina’s first road victory of the year. Carolina is 3-0 at home and 1-3 on the road. It’s time to reconsider what’s possible for the Panthers, who certainly will have a chance at a winning record for the season and maybe even a playoff berth if they keep this up.
It was never a pretty game Sunday, because the Jets have a strong enough defense to muddle things up. It is led by Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who had a long and successful career with the Panthers. Fortunately for Carolina, the Jets also have an offense that has a hard time tying its own cleats.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) celebrates after Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) scores a touchdown during a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Oct 19, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA. Yannick Peterhans Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Jets were so awful in the first half on offense with Justin Fields at QB that they benched him and went with 36-year-old veteran QB Tyrod Taylor in the second half. New York was a little better with Taylor, but still could never dent the end zone, with Horn’s one-handed, end zone interception blunting one attempt.
That meant that both teams were playing their backup QBs by the end of the game — the Jets because of performance, the Panthers because of Young’s injury.
With Chuba Hubbard returning from a calf injury at running back, the Panthers let him have his starting job back but then had him alternate series with Rico Dowdle — the unquestioned star of the past two weeks. Dowdle was clearly more effective Sunday, with 79 yards rushing in 17 carries compared to Hubbard’s 31 in 14. Canales said he liked the alternating-series idea after the game, but he may want to rethink it if Dowdle continues to outplay Hubbard.
Oct 19, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) runs with the ball in the second quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Vincent Carchietta Imagn Images
All of that, though, is overshadowed by the looming specter of Young’s ankle injury. The Panthers hardly ever win three games in a row, and so their fans should be able to celebrate unabashedly this week. Instead, because nothing in the NFL lasts for very long, they will have to worry about Young’s ankle, as well as the Bills and Josh Allen.
Still, to be 4-3 and over .500 at this point in the season?
It’s rare air for the Panthers. Take a few deep breaths of that air this week, Carolina fans. Remember what winning feels like.
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