CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It was hard to ignore.
As the Bank of America Stadium crowd basked in its first home win of the 2026 season, multiple "MVP" chants erupted during the Panthers' 32-26 win against the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. The three-lettered chorus was aimed at quarterback Bryce Young as he put together an epic aerial performance.
And while it might be a bit premature for MVP consideration, especially for a signal-caller who has experienced highs and lows throughout his four-year career, Young's start to the season has undoubtedly made the conversation at least plausible as the Panthers enter their Week 5 bye and await the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.
Young, 25, leads the NFL with 1,268 passing yards. He's tied for third in passing touchdowns -- with the likes of Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, Detroit's Jared Goff and New Orleans' Tyler Shough -- with nine.
"That's stats," Young said Sunday. "For us, the only stat we care about is the win column."
It's worth noting the Panthers (2-2) have a .500 record through the first quarter of the season for the first time since 2021, and Carolina is also 10-8 with Young as a starter dating back to Week 3 of last season. Coming off their first playoff appearance since 2017 and first division title since 2015, the Panthers currently sit at the top of the NFC South division, ahead of the Falcons (2-2).
Young is a large reason for Carolina's early success, as the Panthers have the top passing offense in the league entering Week 5. Carolina is averaging 301.3 passing yards per game, pushing the offense to rank fourth in the league with an average of 405.8 total yards per game.
And while Young says he doesn't want to focus on stats (or a potential contract extension), the weight of those aforementioned MVP chants are ultimately going to be impacted by numbers beyond the Panthers' win total.
Let's look at three stats to monitor and ones that could further influence Young's path toward the league's top award:
Bryce Young's touchdown-to-interception ratio
Young is protecting the ball quite well. Through four games, he has two interceptions and no fumbles lost. He's averaging 4.5 touchdowns for every one interception so far this season.
Of the six QBs with nine or more passing touchdowns, only Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers (1) and Goff (0) have fewer than two interceptions entering Week 5.
In his three previous seasons, Young has done a relatively good job of avoiding interceptions with the occasional multiple-pick downturn outing peppered into his annual performance. His career high for interceptions in a season is 11, which he produced while also throwing for a career-high 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2025.
The 2023 first overall pick's scoring surge this season is impressive as he threw for 11 touchdowns during 16 games played as a rookie. In 2024, he threw for 15 touchdowns in 14 games (12 starts). He's currently on pace for 38 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions through four games this season.
Young's passing yards per attempt
Young is pushing the ball downfield at a quality clip in 2026. In 2025, he averaged 6.3 yards per pass attempt, and that season was considered his breakout campaign. This season, he's up to 7.8 yards per pass attempt. He's also averaging 8.4 air yards per passing attempt, which is up from 6.2 last season.
Young, with offensive coordinator Brad Idzik now in charge of playcalling, is letting it rip. He has thrown at targets 20 yards or more downfield on 11.1% of his passing attempts in 2026, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Last season, that average was 7.1%. He has also thrown intermediately -- passes between 10 and 19 yards -- at a 24.7% clip compared to 23% last season.
Young's connection with Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker
Young has undeniable chemistry with his top wide receivers McMillan and Coker. Through the first quarter of the season, Young has a 118.7 passer rating when targeting the duo.
He has completed 44 of 61 passes to Coker and McMillan for 607 combined yards, four touchdowns and an interception. With a 72.1% completion percentage to McMillan and Coker, Young is gaining roughly 10 yards per completion.
As Young continues to ascend, having two trusted playmakers in the lineup should only help him bolster his numbers and MVP case. Even with Coker (quad) sidelined this past Sunday, Young completed 14 passes to McMillan for 192 yards and two touchdowns in the win against Detroit.