Bryce Young on his latest comeback: No big hoo-rah

Bryce Young had plenty of critics after his first two seasons. He has quieted them this season.

The Panthers quarterback did it again, leading his fifth comeback of the season. In the 31-28 win over the Rams, Young threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Tetairoa McMillan on fourth-and-2 for the game-winner with 6:34 left.

"It was fun," Young said, via Darin Gantt of the team website. "I just trust my guys. There's no big conversation. No big hoo-rah. I mean, it's not a big speech. I know this guy's always ready."

It was the 11th game-winning drive in Young's career, the most of any quarterback in the NFL since he entered in 2023. At 24 years and 164 days old, he passed Josh Allen as the youngest quarterback in NFL history with 11 game-winning drives.

"Well, you don't just become the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick for no reason," Panthers center Austin Corbett said. "There's a deep, unbelievable talent in him and his ability. And you'll never suspect it because he's so calm and just that true SoCal kid. Yeah, we're just chilling like it's another day in the office.

"But just his fight, his ability just to lock in and just, just to be a dog is incredible. And the calm demeanor he has in the huddle, and just to see the passion come out in those times of success, I love playing with him. It's amazing."

Young had the second-highest passer rating in a single game in franchise history at 147.1, trailing only a 153.3 by Cam Newton in 2015. He also now has a career-high 18 touchdown passes, the most by a Panthers quarterback since Newton's 24 in 2018.

The Panthers improved to 7-6 and are playoff contenders, a half-game behind the Buccaneers in the NFC South.