Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has spent plenty of time on the ground this season. Although he is frequently criticized for holding on to the ball too long, the numbers indicate that he is not responsible for most of the sacks he takes.

A chart shared by Patton Analytics using StatRankings data breaks down the sacks taken by starting quarterbacks this season. It shows that Young was responsible for only 17.4% of the sacks he has taken this season.

Young may have done some things wrong, but the Panthers aren’t giving him enough help to succeed.

The Panthers Have a Bigger Problem Than Bryce Young

The Packers hit Young nine times and sacked him six times in the 27-19 loss to Green Bay. For most of the game, the offensive line struggled to protect Young in the pocket.

Young is under a lot of pressure from opposing defenses while also dealing with injuries along the offensive line, including those to Taylor Moton, Ikem Ekwonu and Damien Lewis.

This is also reflected in the distribution of sacks among other quarterbacks. Sam Darnold was responsible for 52.9% of his sacks, while Aaron Rodgers was responsible for 39.1% of his.

Again, the offensive line is not to be blamed for every sack that Young is not responsible for. There are numerous factors that can lead to a sack, including a receiver not getting open, a missed block and the offensive play call.

A good portion of the Panthers’ protection problems appear to go beyond Young. Young is thrown into situations where he is forced to run for his life almost immediately after the snap. In many cases, he is behind the eight ball before the play even gets started.

NFL Next Gen Stats charted Young being pressured on 48.9% of his dropbacks during the game, nearly half of the times that he went back to pass. This was clearly a big problem for the Panthers as they were unable to establish any sort of offensive rhythm.

The responsibility for those sacks shouldn't fall solely on the shoulders of the quarterback. The Panthers’ offensive line has to execute better to protect Young on passing plays.

Dave Canales Has to Find an Answer

Young still has to recognize pressure and get rid of the football before a play breaks down. Some of the blame for his play has to go to the offensive line. They have to do a better job of protecting Young on passing plays.

The coaching staff, led by Dave Canales, must find more ways to help Young succeed. That means giving him more protection on passing plays, throwing the ball more quickly, and using different blocking schemes.

That doesn’t mean the Panthers have to completely change up their offensive scheme. Simply getting the ball out of Young’s hands faster or adding another blocker to protect him from the pass rush would help the quarterback.

As Canales noted after the game, Carolina needs to find more answers when opposing defenses are bringing pressure. The Packers used a variety of different looks to get pressure, including four-man rushes that the Panthers struggled to block. Those are the types of situations where the coaching staff has to make adjustments rather than relying on Young to find a way out of trouble on each and every play.

The Panthers have too much invested in Young to keep putting him in situations where he is trying to avoid another sack. Carolina has to give its quarterback a chance to succeed.

While Young isn’t perfect, the numbers suggest that the majority of the sacks he takes are not his fault. The Panthers’ issues with protection must be addressed before they become even more of a problem for the team.