CHARLOTTE – Bryce Young made his first touchdown pass, went a little more vertical, and led two scoring drives Friday.

And that was enough.

Young's third start in the preseason finale against Detroit was his biggest step forward. He accounted for 10 points at the helm of the first offense, stringing together efficient possessions even without three of his regular receivers or his first two running backs.

The rookie's day was done after those two series, going 7-of-12 passing for 73 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, taking one sack for a loss of 7 yards.

In total, Young started in seven total series across three preseason games. He went 14-of-24 passing with one touchdown, and no interceptions – an 87.0 passer rating.

Young led two scoring drives – the first for a field goal, and the second for a touchdown. He found Adam Thielen, who emerged as his favorite option against the Lions (five targets, four receptions for 48 yards) in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown connection.

Young's touchdown pass capped off a seven-play, 57-yard drive that included a shifty 13-yard scramble for a first down. He plopped down instead of sliding to end the play, but he has time to refine the technique before Sept. 10. Young's three scrambles on the night accounted for 21 total yards.

That touchdown drive also began with his longest completion of the preseason, a 21-yarder to Thielen on the drive's first play.

A Young-led offense began the night moving the ball as efficiently as it had at any point in the preseason, converting four straight first downs and getting inside the red zone on the first series.

Young set up kicker Eddy Piñeiro for a 41-yard field goal in his return to the field after a minor groin injury.

They were stalled by the sack and a few missed connections, though many of Young's usual weapons were out for the night. With DJ Chark Jr.(hamstring), Terrace Marshall Jr. (back), and Laviska Shenault Jr. (concussion protocol) inactive, Young was making some deep shots to last season's practice squader Derek Wright.

Young did find Jonathan Mingo once for 14 yards, targeting the rookie twice. He connected with tight end Ian Thomas once for 7 yards.

They continued with the same group of first-team linemen as last week, with rookie Chandler Zavala in Austin Corbett's spot at right guard, while he recovers from his ACL injury.

He hadn't done it before Friday. But yes, now Young gets to leave the preseason having scored a touchdown in the NFL.