Panthers' Andy Dalton to Start Over Bryce Young vs. Burrow, Bengals After Raiders Win

The Carolina Panthers are Andy Dalton's team for the time being.

In his first start of the season, Dalton led Carolina to a 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders to help the team improve to 1-2. This came after the benching of 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young and Panthers head coach Dave Canales re-affirmed his commitment to Dalton going forward.

"Andy's our quarterback. He gives us our best chance to win," Canales said, per Joe Person of The Athletic.

Dalton went 26-of-37 for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. These totals are significantly better than Young's stats through two games, as the second-year quarterback has accumulated 245 passing yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions across his two starts.

The Panthers offense looked more than competent under Dalton and he clearly has a strong grip over the offense. It also makes Young's lackluster play even more concerning, as Dalton has not had a true starting role since 2022 but has looked better than Young in his limited action in both 2023 and 2024.

It now looks like Young will have to win the job back to be placed back in, but Dalton would still likely need to struggle in order for Young to get another chance. While Canales had previously said that Young was "our quarterback," that title now appears to belong to Dalton.

Dalton will get a chance to further show his ability in Week 4 when he faces his old team in the Cincinnati Bengals, who now feature Joe Burrow at quarterback.