CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Troy Aikman began his second season for the Dallas Cowboys with a 3-7 record following a 0-11 rookie year by the top pick of the 1989 draft. It looked like the losing would continue the next week when the former UCLA star extended his streak of interceptions to 13 straight games on the third play against the Los Angeles Rams. He was 0-of-5 late in the first quarter.
Then everything began to click.
Aikman completed 17 of his final 27 attempts for 303 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-21 come-from-behind victory. The Cowboys won four in a row, and the rest is history in what turned into a Hall of Fame career with three Super Bowl victories and six Pro Bowl selections.
The same may one day be said about Bryce Young and the 2-3 Panthers, who head into Sunday's game against the 2-2-1 Cowboys (1 p.m. ET, Fox) after a seemingly improbable 27-24 victory against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft, had an interception and lost fumble in the first half. The Panthers trailed 17-0 and appeared headed for a 1-4 record.
Young, who came into the game with a 7-25 record, 1-17 when he had at least one turnover, appeared headed for a possible benching.
Then things began to click.
Young completed 17 of his final 26 attempts for 165 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 2:03 remaining.
"Big win for the team and Bryce,'' former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning said.
Manning understands. He had one of those moments against the Denver Broncos in his second season. The Giants trailed 23-10 with 13:18 remaining but scored two touchdowns in the final nine minutes, including a game-winning 2-yard pass from Manning to Amani Toomer with five seconds left.
"That made a big impact on me,'' Manning said.
Young was too in the moment on Sunday to speculate about what the comeback meant for him. But he never wavered down 17-0. He wasn't looking over his shoulder wondering if coach Dave Canales would pull him in favor of veteran Andy Dalton like last year after starting the season 0-2.
He seemed surprised whether he remained in the game after his third two-turnover start in five games, smiling later as he answered in a most predictable way.
"I was just focused on the next play,'' Young said. "We all have all the belief in the world. We believe in each other. There was no flinch from both sides of the ball. Being a part of that was special.''
Young took the same approach when asked if the comeback, only the fourth time in 117 games the Panthers overcame a 17-point deficit to win and only the second time in 20 games Young won after committing at least one turnover, was a defining moment.
"There's never been a lack of belief,'' Young said. "We all know what we have. We all know what it takes to execute. It will be great [for] 24 hours, and then next week will be the challenge to execute and do everything we can to have a good week and to put ourselves in a good spot for Sunday.''
Canales insisted he wasn't contemplating a switch despite Young's rough start. His focus was the same as Young's.
"Just keep playing football,'' he said. "Ask him to execute and keep taking our chances. Fortunately for us, we were able to stay balanced with our attack, and the run game got going, which allowed us to have a different type of attack and settle back in.
"Then he made his throws when we needed it.''
Young made arguably his best throw of the season in the second quarter when he connected with receiver Xavier Legette for a 7-yard touchdown. He threw a dart to the back corner of the end zone before the second-year receiver cleared the defender.
He didn't hesitate even though Legette struggled in the first two games and missed the last two with a hamstring injury.
Legette called the touchdown a "trust throw.''
"For him to throw me that showed me that he believed in me,'' he said.
Young's teammates never lost faith in their quarterback, just as teammates never lost faith in Aikman and Manning at a time when they were struggling.
"There was definitely no loss in Bryce at all,'' said running back Rico Dowdle, whose 206 yards rushing tied for second on the team's single-game list. "He's always been a fighter. ... He stuck to it, and we all stuck to it as a team.''
Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown saw it after the interception when Young came straight to him on the sideline and said, "Go get it back for me and we'll go.''
"That's what it takes,'' Canales said. "It doesn't matter how you ended up in this situation. Can you go out and execute one more time? Can you keep your focus on your side while also being able to connect with what we believe can get it done?
"I love hearing that.''
Young and everyone around him also knows what happened Sunday won't mean anything unless they follow it up with another good performance against the Cowboys.
Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer is preparing to see Young at his best.
"If you do [what he did Sunday], you draw from that,'' he said. "You gain confidence.''
Carolina receiver Jalen Coker, who has a chance to return from injured reserve this week, agreed. While he never lost confidence in Young, seeing him engineer the comeback provided belief he can do it again.
Teammates in general now know even if things don't go perfectly, Young still can produce a win, something he hadn't done to that level before even though he's shown resilience.
"He's been really consistent this year on when things haven't gone right,'' Canales said of why he stuck with Young down 17-0. "When there have been mistakes, when he's turned the ball over, he's got a great look on his face and his eyes of accountability.
"He has a way of sitting down, collecting his thoughts and then coming back out with great energy. That's where he's been locked into, and I want him to stay there.''
So was Sunday a defining moment? Brown summed it up best for everyone.
"Ask me in January,'' he said with a big smile.