During the third quarter of a back-and-forth divisional donnybrook to end the 2024 season, the Carolina Panthers trailed the Atlanta Falcons by one point, roughly four minutes into the second half.
It was fourth-and-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Bryce Young lined up under center and took a snap before faking a handoff to running back Miles Sanders. With tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders darting to the right behind the line of scrimmage to pick up a defender for a lead block, Young sprinted behind him on a bootleg. The quarterback then set his feet midway through his jaunt and fired a dart over the middle to tight end Tommy Tremble in the end zone.
Before the ball even reached the wide open Tremble's hands, Young turned around and threw up a touchdown signal as a way of celebrating the 12-yard heave for a go-ahead score. The oft soft-spoken signal-caller showed off his understated bravado with the early commemoration of the touchdown connection.
"It was the coolest thing ever," Tremble said about Young's signature throw of 2024. "That play is one of my favorites. Like, it's fun to see, and that's when I feel like Bryce Young really, like, activated and everyone else could see the kind of player he was."
The Panthers won the 2024 season finale against the Falcons on the road, 44-38, in overtime, as Young produced a career-high five total touchdowns -- three with his arm and two with his legs -- nearly four months after he was benched in Week 3 of his second campaign. The shot of Young's pre-completion celebration spread throughout the 2025 offseason and served as a beacon of hope for fans of the much-maligned passer.
"He was the best dude on the field," Panthers right guard Rob Hunt said. "That was cool. ... It was a good moment for him, for sure -- confidence builder. ...That was good going into the next season."
And while Young did improve throughout his 2025 season, it was again his bout against the Falcons on the road last season that turned heads. In his Atlanta-based follow-up to the 2024 clash, Young threw for a franchise-record 448 yards -- surpassing Cam Newton's previous mark of 432 yards in 2011 -- and three touchdowns in a 30-27 overtime win against the Falcons.
While the Panthers head back to Atlanta on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox) with an identical 0-1 record to the Falcons, Young's previous two trips to Mercedes-Benz Stadium should keep Falcons fans and coaches up at night. And considering the Panthers' defense gave up 59 points and 552 yards to the Chicago Bears last week, Young -- who led six scoring drives in Week 1 -- might need to be the difference-maker again on Sunday.
"Coach [Dave Canales] talks about it all the time: Our first goal is to win the [NFC] South," Young said Wednesday. "And obviously, those division wins mean so much, when you're trying to accomplish that goal. You have the same process and you understand that. You don't want to get too high or too low, but again, this is a business, we're all pros and we understand what's at stake every time that it's a division opponent."
Let's look closer at how Young has gone above and beyond inside the dome that sits in the heart of Atlanta and get a feel for what the 25-year-old could do for an encore.
Young's performances in Atlanta
Despite losing his NFL debut in Atlanta in the season opener against the Falcons in 2023, Young's numbers against his familiar foes run counter to his overall career stat line.
Young had a 16.4 total quarterback rating in his debut loss against the Falcons, but he has since won four consecutive starts against Atlanta, raising his QBR against the rival NFC South franchise to 67.4, which is more than 20 points higher than his career number of 43.9.
Young is 4-1 in his starts against the Falcons and 10-30 as a starter against everyone else. His 66.7% completion percentage against Atlanta is five percentage points higher than his career average (61.4%). In five games, Young has thrown for 1,133 passing yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He is throwing 3.5 touchdowns for every interception against Atlanta; he averages 1.7 touchdowns per interception against the entire league.
The QB has also scored a third of his career rushing touchdowns against the Falcons, as three of his nine QB-keeper TDs have come against Atlanta.
"I feel like every single time he goes to Atlanta, he just makes the plays," Tremble said. "And him breaking Cam Newton's passing record that game [in 2025] -- it was sick to see. It was fun to be a part of that. So, I'm excited to see him, hopefully, even top that game from last time."
And while his numbers are comparatively modest at home in Charlotte (288 total passing yards, 17 rushing total yards and a rushing touchdown in two games) against the Falcons, his last two road trips to Atlanta featured 699 total passing yards, 23 total rushing yards and eight total touchdowns to go with a pair of overtime victories in thrilling shootouts.
It's also worth noting, Young's success at Mercedes-Benz Stadium predates his NFL career. He threw for 765 total yards and seven total touchdowns in two blowout wins in Atlanta during his tenure as the Alabama Crimson Tide's starting QB. During one of those outings, he also ran for 40 yards and a touchdown on three carries -- to go along with 421 passing yards and three passing touchdowns -- against Georgia in the 2021 SEC Championship Game.
Young's outlook against Falcons in Week 2
Young's fourth Week 1 appearance went much better than his previous three opening-week outings for Carolina. He finished the 59-37 loss to the Bears with 361 passing yards, four total touchdowns (including a rushing score) and an interception. He had a 66.4 QBR, nearly identical to his overall success against Atlanta.
"He's off to a hot start right now, we've just got to keep it rolling," Tremble said.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Young threw for a career-high 221 yards on deep throws against Chicago, completing 64.3% of his downfield heaves. He was particularly effective against zone coverage, throwing for 289 yards compared to 72 yards against man coverage.
Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1, the Falcons ran zone coverage on nearly 40% of their defensive snaps. Atlanta favored man coverage at nearly 60% against Pittsburgh.
Young will need to be much more efficient against man coverage than he was against the Bears, who primarily used zone coverage against Carolina in Week 1.
Still, Young faced coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's scheme twice last season, and while the quarterback had a modest stat line in their initial meeting in Charlotte (121 passing yards, eight rushing yards and a rushing touchdown with 66.7% completion percentage), he exploded to boast career-high passing numbers in the second go-around in Atlanta in 2025.
Nothing should be particularly foreign to Young about Ulbrich's attack, even with coach Kevin Stefanski now overseeing the team.
"Very matchy group, guys that -- especially on the perimeter -- they play really well," Young said about the man coverage-heavy scheme. "Understand concepts, do a great job of pattern matching, all that stuff, so we know it's going to take everything. We have to be executing at a high level to have success."
Biggest X factor for Young in Atlanta?
The Panthers' offensive line needs to keep Young upright Sunday. Against Chicago, Young was pressured on 11 of his 41 dropbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He also took two sacks.
Carolina will go up against new faces on the Falcons front, too. With defensive ends James Pearce Jr. (suspension) and Jalon Walker (injured reserve) unavailable, Atlanta will count on veterans Za'Darius Smith and Samson Ebukam to bring the pressure, along with newly acquired defensive tackles Maason Smith and Gervon Dexter Sr. Against Pittsburgh, Za'Darius Smith picked up both of the Falcons' sacks and the front seven pressured Rodgers on 13 of his 40 dropbacks (31%), according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Young's escapability is crucial for big gains in both phases, but he also can't be scrambling in and out of the pocket on every play. Fill-in starting tackles Rasheed Walker and rookie Monroe Freeling did a solid enough job of protecting Young in their debut as a tandem and the interior line held its own as well.
"They definitely have lost a lot of their edge defenders, just due to injuries and other circumstances, but the guys that I have seen so far, they're good at their bull rushes," Freeling said. "... So for me, it's just going to be important anchoring and making sure [the rushers] don't collapse the pocket, so Bryce has as much space as he needs to work."
If the offensive line can hold up against Atlanta, Young could extend plays and toss the ball down the field with authority, perhaps with some more pre-completion showmanship.
Projected stat line for Young's Week 2
ESPN senior writer Mike Clay has projected Young's stat line for the Week 2 battle against Atlanta. While Clay doesn't have Young matching his heroics from the previous two trips down South, he does have the Panthers QB putting together a quality performance against the Falcons.
Clay projects Young to complete 21 of 33 passes (63.3%) for 236 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while adding three carries for 19 rushing yards.
