JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bryce Young was upset Sunday as he walked past Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales on the sideline after an unsuccessful pass on fourth-and-1 from the Jacksonville Jaguars' 5-yard line early in the third quarter.
Canales patted his quarterback's head in encouragement, then Young turned and said something before slamming his helmet to the ground and taking a seat on the bench with a blank look of frustration that told the story of the 26-10 season-opening loss.
Canales wouldn't expand on what was said, only that it was "something he and I will work through, talk about,'' and that what Young said wasn't directed at him.
Young said only that it had to do with not executing, "and when you're not executing, it sucks.''
Young will get much of the blame for how his third straight season-opening loss unfolded. He lost a fumble after a scramble that took away a field goal opportunity. He had two interceptions and almost a third for a pick-six that was called back because of defensive holding.
It left Young with seven career turnovers and two touchdown passes in his three Week 1 starts. It washed away all the momentum the 2023 No. 1 draft pick had after ending last season with the NFL's third-highest Total QBR over the final three games.
Things were so bad Sunday that Canales said multiple times afterward the Panthers had four turnovers instead of three, seemingly counting the pick-six.
"I obviously can't turn the ball over like that,'' said Young, who completed 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards and a 49.0 passer rating. "It cost the team. I have to be better than that.''
But Young doesn't deserve all the blame for the mess Carolina made at Jacksonville's EverBank Stadium.
First-round receiver Tetairoa McMillan should have caught a perfectly thrown ball in the end zone.
Wide receiver Xavier Legette should have gotten two feet down on a sideline pass inside the Jacksonville 30-yard line that came two plays before Young's fumble.
There also were snaps that occasionally came in high or early, seemingly catching Young off guard because of the pressure the Jaguars put on center Austin Corbett.
"We just really got to figure calming down the cadence part, getting everybody started out in the protection,'' Canales said.
The issues weren't limited to the offense. The defense that couldn't stop the run all of last season gave up 200 ground yards, including a 71-yarder by Travis Etienne Jr. in the first half that led to a touchdown.
And Canales could have done a better job with his playcalling, particularly the fourth-down play that left Young frustrated on the sideline.
Canales has prided himself on having a physical, run-based offense. Yet on fourth-and-1, he went with Young in the shotgun and an empty backfield instead of turning to running back Chuba Hubbard.
Young wound up being pressured, running to his left, and lofted a pass out of the end zone with Legette and tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders covered.
"We just liked our matchups,'' Canales said. "Felt like we had a good concept right there. It didn't work out, but that was a situation where it's a play that we wanted to put our guys in a comfortable position with good answers for it, and we didn't execute.''
The day was filled with breakdowns in execution and communication. It left most of the players in the locker room with stunned looks.
"That's a picture of where we're at right now,'' Canales said. "Obviously, not good enough. The turnovers, the explosive plays, our tackling was not great. ... Anytime you have four turnovers in a game, you give an offense with a bunch of playmakers more opportunities.
"We have to grow from this. We have to take care of the basic things that we've been working on and just take a next step this week.''
The next step comes on the road at the Arizona Cardinals, which will offer another set of challenges for an organization that has had seven straight losing seasons.
But the lack of success against a Jaguars team coming off a 4-13 season, worse than Carolina's 5-12 mark, felt like a missed opportunity. This didn't look like the team Canales liked so much in training camp, when he said opponents "won't want to play us.''
"There's a look of surprise a little bit for the guys because they know what kind of group we have in there,'' Canales said. "This was not up to the standard of our expectations for how we play.''
Instead of creating hope for the future that Canales and general manager Dan Morgan spoke of often of during the offseason, it left players searching for answers.
"This is just pure we've got to wake up [Monday] morning and you've got to light that fire,'' Corbett said. "It's go time. I've been here three seasons. Whether I'm playing or not, there's a lot of waiting around for something to happen. It's time to go make it happen.''