When the New Orleans Saints shut down the surging Carolina Panthers’ run game behind Rico Dowdle, they dared Bryce Young and the passing game to be good enough to beat them. The Saints left Charlotte, North Carolina, with a 17-7 victory.
The game plan devised by New Orleans’ defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley, did more than just disrupt the Carolina offense in Week 10. The strategy could have a carryover effect that disrupts Carolina’s outlook for much longer than one football game.
What Is Holding the Carolina Panthers’ Passing Game Back
Panthers’ head coach Dave Canales opened his Monday press conference discussing how he thought the three phases performed. When he got to the offense, he said, “We did not have a balanced offense yesterday.”
Canales continued, “We tried to get the run game going, like we always do. They [Saints defense] did a great job. When we trainsitioned to the pass, mixed results. Not enough explosives.”
Watch Dave Canales speak to the media. https://t.co/zA7G66v7yR
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 10, 2025
The most discerning of eyes could identify that last part as a significant hindrance to this Panthers pass attack, really, all season long. The difference is that the ground game had been effective enough to mask the actual dire reality of that shortcoming.
But it’s also a song being sung in a different key than the passing game ‘resurgance’ during the latter portion of the 2024 campaign when Bryce Young reclaimed the starting QB job after his benching after Week 2.
During the ten weeks from Week 8 to Week 18, the Panthers’ offense ranked sixth in the percentage of pass attempts with 20+ air yards. Young had the league’s second-best adjusted completion rate on those throws.
Through the first ten weeks of the 2025 regular season, the Panthers have attempted only 20 throws of 20+ air yards, ranking them 31st in attempt percentage. Twelve of those pass attempts have targeted rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. They’re seventh in terms of adjusted completion rate.
The downfield shots aren’t being dialed up, or they’re not having the trigger pulled on the field to the extent that Young did during his most successful professional stretch.
Canales was asked about the inconsistency of the passing game during his post-game press conference, to which he said, “That’s something we’re working on. It’s just taking advantage of those opportunities one-on-one down the field. It comes down to just me-to-you factor and making plays.”
Then on Monday, when answering more specifically about how the coaching staff puts together their game plan, Canales inerestingly said, “Starting with the coaching staff, as we put game plans together to get our guys in the right positions and make sure that the pass game reflects what Bryce [Young] does with confidence.”
A follow-up question, seeking more clarity, asked if Young was ‘comfortable taking those deep shots’. The answer from Canales didn’t inspire a ton of confidence, as he responded, “We’ll have to just keep growing as a group, and make sure that the time on task, the trust factor, the me-to-you factor. All those things grow.”
Panthers’ Passing Woes Attributed to More Than One Culprit
Canales mentioned the ‘me-to-you’ phrase multiple times over the past two days, seemingly insinuating a kink in the timing and/or comfort level with the deep pass game. That’s a dangerous aspect of funnelling so much of an area through one player, as I pointed out earlier, with McMillan seeing 12 out of the 20 pass attempts of 20+ air yards.
Xavier Legette hasn’t been involved in the deeper concepts as much as many anticipated after seeing his usage last season. You’d have hoped that he and Young could’ve continued to build their rapport. Legette’s skill set is well-suited for in-breaking routes and deep crossers. Those are actually good fits for Young’s proficiencies as well.
With Young being an anticipatory thrower, the chemistry between him and his receivers is even more critical. If the young wide receiver group isn’t consistent in their responsibilities to each concept, you get these clunky relationships that appear forced and unnatural.
There is still a glaring lack of easy speed in the Carolina offense. Legette can get there with a runway. Jimmy Horn Jr. is explosive but clearly hasn’t won over the coaching staff’s trust entirely. When the weapons don’t create separation early and often on deep routes, it’s asking for a big leap of faith from an anticipatory passer.
The Panthers’ passing game has also been too protective and stale. Protecting the ball and limiting turnovers is paramount, of course. But if you’re not going to pose a threat, even if only occasionally, of pushing the ball vertically, then defenses will treat you as the Saints treated the Panthers on Sunday.
Bryce Young (64.5 PFSN QBi score, ranked No. 32) averages 7.2 air yards per attempt (24th), has a 7.4% deep pass percentage (27th), and a -0.17 EPA per dropback (tied for 30th).
If the Saints just dropped a blueprint of sorts on how to beat Carolina’s ground-and-pound approach? The Panthers need to prove that they can adjust their passing game quickly, or else the remaining difficult schedule has the potential to get really ugly, really fast.