Panthers’ Bryce Young benched for Kenny Pickett late in total no-show vs. Buccaneers

On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers hit the field at home for a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This game marked the return of Baker Mayfield for Tampa Bay, coming back and looking to lead the Buccaneers back into the mix after a tough 1-5 start to the season.

Meanwhile, the Panthers were riding high coming into this matchup, but those good vibes quickly dissipated with a brutal 33-6 deficit heading into the locker room for halftime.

Things didn't get much better in the second half, and ultimately, head coach Dave Canales waved the white flag with several minutes left in the game, pulling Bryce Young amid his brutal performance.

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"It appears Kenny Pickett is coming into the game," reported Joe Person of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.

The Panthers came into this game at first place in the NFC South after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles on the road last week, sitting at 3-2 on the season, and having already had their bye for the year.

Basically whatever could have gone wrong did go wrong for the Panthers in this one. Of course, the benching of Young does not mean that the Panthers are actually moving on with Pickett as their starter moving forward, but rather that there was no point in leaving the starters in, considering the late blowout nature of the game.

Still, there will be plenty for the Panthers to look for in the film room this week as they gear up for next week's game on the road vs the Green Bay Packers.