Dave Canales: I just know that Andy Dalton gives us the best chance to win right now

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Monday that his decision to bench Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton was based on one overriding factor: Dalton gives Carolina the best chance to win.

Canales noted that after watching film of Sunday's 26-3 loss to the Chargers, he spoke with GM Dan Morgan and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Brandt Tillis before making the decision and informing the quarterbacks this morning.

“Many factors play a role in this decision. And ultimately it was simply on my shoulder to make the best decision for our group to give us the best chance to win this week”, Canales said in his press conference on Monday. “And we are focused on the weeks ahead, we are focused on the challenge ahead. We believe that Andy gives us the best chance to meet the challenge.

“This was my decision. This is our football team. We try to win every week. And even though it's my decision, I get information from the people who make those decisions. But I felt like this gave us a chance to improve our style of play and be able to compete against a really good Raiders team this week.”

Canales didn't say it, but his words, tone and demeanor made it seem like this wasn't a temporary substitution to give Young a rest before being reinserted into the lineup. Instead, Canales kept saying that he and the team were just focused on this week.

“We're focused on getting Andy ready for the game against the Raiders,” Canales said. “And that's how we're going to go about it — we're going to attack the Raiders. We're going to attack this week and get that mentality and the things that we're looking for.”

“I don't want to get into timelines,” Canales added later. “I just know that Andy is giving us our best chance to win right now.”

Canales also did not present any plans for Young to return as QB1.

“I really hope he just shows up every day, works hard, focuses on his job and continues to put in the effort,” Canales said. “Andy will get the appropriate reps for our workouts. He'll be in the first group. We'll ask him to come in the group and continue to move the ball forward as we develop into the offense that I think we can achieve.”

When asked how this might affect Young and his confidence, especially as the No. 1 overall pick, Canales said those factors have been discussed.

“I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I owe it to everybody — the coaches, the staff, the players, everybody involved — to be really critical of what we're filming, what I'm seeing, and to make sure I'm constantly making the best decision for the team. Every week,” Canales said. “And it happens to be the quarterback position, so it's so crowded. But it's all the positions. And it's all the guys. And I was able to stand in front of the team and challenge all the guys that we all have to step up our passion for what we're doing in order to play with the style of play that we're looking for.”

And when it comes to how Young can best respond, Canales kept it simple.

“Yeah, that's just a standard in NFL football,” Canales said. “Come on, work hard, be focused, be dedicated, give everything you have every day to be your best and grow.”

In two games this season, Young has completed 55 percent of his throws for 245 yards, with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He has averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 44.1.