Bryce Young gets another chance to prove himself as Panthers face Giants in Germany

CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young has never been to Europe, according to The Associated Press.

The 23-year-old quarterback will break open a pristine passport and make his first trip overseas as the Carolina Panthers face the New York Giants on Sunday in a battle of 2-7 teams.

Young retained his starting job after leading the Panthers on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive in a 23-22 win over the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. Now, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick is hoping to lead the Panthers to their first back-to-back wins since December of 2022.

Young got the starting nod over a healthy Andy Dalton.

Dalton had taken over as Carolina’s starter in Week 3 after head coach Dave Canales benched Young following a slow start to the season. But Dalton sprained his right thumb in a car crash and hasn’t played since. He will serve as the No. 2 quarterback for the second straight week.

“He did a fantastic job of finishing that game the right way, finding a way to win and really battling that way, so I was really proud of Bryce for that,” Canales said “I just took all the information in and wanted to give him another opportunity to get out there and face the Giants this week in Germany.”

Young, who is 3-17 as an NFL starter, said he feels grateful for the opportunity — even though his long-term future with the team remains uncertain.

“The more I’m able to experience stuff, I feel more and more comfortable,” Young said. “That’s stuff we continue to grow and build off of.”

Carolina’s defense, which has given up more points than any team in the league, will face Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who grew up in Charlotte and rooted for the Panthers while playing at Charlotte Latin High School. Jones will go against his hometown team thousands of miles from home.

“It gives you some perspective on how far you’ve come and the opportunity you have to play in the NFL,” Jones said. “And certainly, have a lot of appreciation for that. Once the ball is snapped and kicked off, it’s just another game.”

The Giants have lost four straight, but Jones has a chance to turn things around against a porous Carolina defense.

Old teammates

Will this be the Brian Burns revenge game?

The Giants outside linebacker was drafted by Carolina with the 16th pick overall in the 2019 NFL draft. He had 59 tackles for loss and 46 sacks in 80 games with Carolina, including at least 7 1/2 sacks in each season. However, the Panthers refused to give Burns — considered one of the league’s top edge rushers — a contract extension and traded him in the offseason to New York.

Burns has five sacks and 36 tackles in nine games.

“It’s just another game to me,” Burns said. “I’m going to prepare the same way and plan to get a win in Germany.”

Going home

No one is more excited about going to Germany than Giants fullback Jakob Johnson, a native of Stuttgart.

The 29-year-old has been on the transaction wire about a dozen times this season, being signed, waived and elevated to the active roster and waived again. He’s on the practice squad this week and making the trip.

Johnson has bought 52 tickets for friends and family. When he started playing in 2007, he said Germans viewed football as an extreme sport like skateboarding. He says it’s become much more popular.

“People might be surprised how many people show up. They all might not be wearing Giants and Panthers jerseys, but they’ll come with whatever jerseys they have and they’ll be loud,” Johnson said

Brooks’ debut?

The Panthers are hoping rookie running back Jonathon Brooks will be able to make his debut, which would bolster the team’s depth in the backfield and provide a scoring threat because of his breakaway speed.

Brooks, who tore his ACL during his final season at Texas, was activated to the 53-man roster earlier this week.

Chuba Hubbard, who was rewarded with a four-year contract extension on Thursday, remains the starting running back and is expected to get the bulk of the carries. The 2021 fourth-round pick has rushed for 665 yards and five TDs while averaging 5 yards per carry.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said Hubbard “exemplifies everything we want on and off the field. Chuba is passionate about football, is productive and is committed to his teammates and winning.”

Ever-changing WR room

The Panthers have traded wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo, leaving them a little thin at the position. With Adam Thielen’s status still unclear — he has missed the last six weeks with a hamstring injury — the Panthers will ask tight end Jordan Matthews to line up out wide at times. Deven Thompkins could see some action, too.

“I got a lot of confidence in Jordan and we’re going to count on him to help us out too in that way,” Canales said. “That’s the hope, he’ll be able to do a little bit of both.”

Rookies Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker and veteran David Moore are expected to see the bulk of work at wide receiver.

Perfection at stake in Europe

The New York Giants are 3-0 in regular-season games played in Europe, while the Panthers are 1-0.

The Giants won in London in 2007, 2016 and 2022 and went on to make the playoffs in each of those three seasons, including one Super Bowl title. They’re one of six unbeaten teams in international games, joining Minnesota (4-0), Kansas City (3-0), Philadelphia (3-0), Dallas (1-0) and Carolina.

The Panthers beat Tampa Bay in 2019 in London.

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AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan contributed to this report.

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