Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers have gotten off to a rough start, dropping their first two games of the season. Most recently, they fell to the New Orleans Saints by a score if 20-17 in Week 2. Because they also lost to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, the Panthers are already 0-2 in their NFC South divisional matchups.

Carolina’s poor start is not necessarily surprising. The Panthers are in full rebuild mode and are rolling with No. 1 overall pick Young under center, so growing pains are expected.

Head coach Frank Reich discussed the club’s early struggles.

“Listen, head coach, quarterback, we’re gonna take the heat, and that just comes with the territory, so you own that, and you understand that when you’re in that position, and Bryce understands that for the position he’s in,” Reich said, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “I can tell you this, certainly our struggle on offense, it’s not one person. Again, we’ll look at the film, but I thought Bryce did some really positive things, made some plays with his feet, made some good decisions, made good throws, showed plenty of things that we want to see, so I was encouraged by that.”

Young went 22-for-33 with 153 yards and a touchdown against the Saints. He also lost a fumble.

Through the first two weeks overall, the rookie quarterback has totaled 299 yards, a couple of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions, completing 59.2 percent of his throws and posting a passer rating of 66.6. He has also carried the ball five times for 51 yards.

In spite of his difficulties, Young is remaining positive.

“I’m confident, I have tremendous belief in the team, this whole building, and we still have to earn the right to go and prove that to the world,” Bryce Young said. “And so I’m excited for that challenge.”

The Panthers will try to right the ship and pick up their first win of 2023 when they head on the road to battle the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.