Panthers sticking with QB Andy Dalton after ugly loss against the Bears

CHICAGO — Andy Dalton had provided a lift for Carolina since replacing Bryce Young.

This time, it didn’t work out very well for Dalton and the Panthers. But coach Dave Canales is staying with his veteran quarterback.

Dalton had just 136 yards passing before he was replaced by Young in the final minutes of an ugly 36-10 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Dalton was sacked three times and threw a costly interception.

Canales said he made the switch at quarterback because he wanted to protect Dalton and give Young a chance to play. He said Dalton will start next weekend against the Atlanta Falcons.

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“Yes. Andy will be our quarterback next week,” said Canales, who was hired in January.

Carolina (1-4) took Young with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft after it acquired the selection in a blockbuster trade with Chicago. He began this season as the starter, but he was replaced by Dalton after struggling in the first two games.

Dalton passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-22 win at Las Vegas on Sept. 22. He threw for 220 yards and two TDs in a 34-24 loss to Cincinnati last weekend. But he struggled to get anything going against Chicago, another one of his five teams during his 14 years in the league.

Carolina managed just one touchdown on Chuba Hubbard’s 38-yard run on its second possession of the game. The Panthers lost two fumbles and went 3 for 12 on third down.

Dalton, who turns 37 on Oct. 29, had Diontae Johnson open in the end zone late in the third quarter, but he was off on his throw.

“We were never able to get into the rhythm,” Dalton said. “We got in a lot of third-and-long situations. Didn’t convert well on third down today. I think at the end of the day, that’s what hurt us.”

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The Panthers also were hampered by a long list of injuries on both sides of the ball. The offense lost right tackle Taylor Moton (elbow), center Austin Corbett (biceps), tight end Tommy Tremble (evaluated for a concussion) and rookie receiver Xavier Legette (shoulder).

Canales didn’t have much of an update on any of the injuries after the loss, adopting a wait-and-see approach. Legette said he expects to play against the Falcons.

“These are impact injuries. This is a violent sport,” Canales said, “and you always have those risks when you go into a game. I never hope that it would turn out like this, but just another challenge and another opportunity for guys to step up that we’re counting on.”

Young, 23, entered for the team’s final drive in his first action since he was benched. He made a nice pass to Miles Sanders on a 27-yard reception on the QB’s first play.

Young was 4-for-7 passing for 58 yards. He moved Carolina down to the Chicago 8 before he was sacked on fourth down.

“He did a fantastic job,” Canales said. “Playing with energy, extending plays, finding some completions down the field, which was all fantastic. It’s a hard situation, but at that point it was just like, OK, with just the different things happening on the offensive line it was something where I wanted to get Andy out of there, and then just give Bryce an opportunity to just continue to put some good football in there while we had time.”

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