DENVER — There were moments, for sure. There were also missed opportunities.

What there weren't, after the Panthers 28-14 loss to Denver Sunday, were any promises about the future of the quarterback position, one way or another.

Bryce Young started because of Andy Dalton's sprained thumb, and after the game, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said he wanted to wait a few days and gauge Dalton's ability to grip and throw a football before making any decisions on next week's starter for the home rematch against the Saints.

"We will look at all the information," Canales said when asked who would start next week. "We'll look at Andy's health over the next couple of days, and we'll make that decision, and we'll have an answer for you."

If Dalton can't play, it would be a moot point. Because Young's day was a mixed bag in his first start since Week 2.

He completed 24-of-37 passes for 224 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The yardage total and the touchdowns were his best since Christmas Eve last year against the Packers, but the two picks matched his performance in this year's opener against the Saints.

He moved the Panthers for touchdowns on their first possession of the game and their last one, as the team gained half its yards for the day (142 of 284 total) on those two drives. They gained six first downs on the nine possessions in between.

"It's inconsistency," Canales said. "We look like a good offense on the first drive, and then we just go, basically, I don't know, was it seven or eight possessions, whatever it was before we get our next first down. Trying to find a rhythm, trying to find the run game in this against a really good defense."

They didn't run the way they were accustomed to, with just 69 yards on the ground (their lowest since the opener).

Canales also said he needed to do a better job of getting plays into Young in a more timely manner, especially since it was his most extensive work in five weeks.

The Broncos do have a top-five defense in practically every category, and the Panthers have obviously struggled offensively this year. Doing it Sunday without the injured Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen complicated things as well, but Young hit a pair of rookies for touchdowns in first-rounder Xavier Legette and undrafted Jalen Coker (second-year wideout Jonathan Mingo and David Moore were the only other two receivers active).

"Everyone stepped up; obviously, being without Diontae and being without Adam is tough," Young said. "Those are obviously great, great players, and you know, everyone was ready to step up. The credit goes to those guys and, you know, you only had four up today and just the attention to detail that takes throughout the week.

"All the stuff they're doing, all four of them, D-Mo, Jalen, Mingo, X, everyone being up, and knowing that, you know there might be some shuffling, there might be more to account for, and obviously, there is a little bit of uncertainty during the week. And when everyone's numbers called, just being able to step up. So hats off to those guys and also to the staff for getting everyone ready. And again, I've worked with all these guys throughout training camp, throughout the season. I have the utmost faith in all of them."

They tried to open things up a bit in the second half (Young averaged 4.3 yards per attempt in the first half), taking a few more shots down the field. One in particular was dropped by Legette, leaving him slapping his own helmet as he ran back to the huddle, frustrated at his own mistake.

But connecting on those shots downfield has been difficult for Young all season. He averaged 5.1 yards per pass attempt to Dalton's 6.2 this year, and the difference seems greater than that to the eye.

"Trying to give him good answers to do those things," Canales said of the second half. "And then we came out, took a couple of shots in the second half, had some near misses. He connected on a few of them down the field on a couple of different spots.

"So, it's like it's his first time back out there, and he was able to just keep working through some of the issues and compete to find completions out there. I thought he had some excellent drives. I thought he had some excellent throws in there. I think the offense will be the first to tell you, there were some things all across the board in the run game and the pass game, and we're just asking Bryce to do his one part of it, and I thought he did a pretty good job of that today."

It was hard to tell from his reaction, though Young isn't given to many outbursts. There were some moments in the second half when television cameras caught him expressing it, and he admitted as much.

"I mean, just a competitor," Young said. "When there's stuff that doesn't go the right way, you get frustrated and then you wipe it. I think we all have that. No one's happy with the result today. We all come to the sideline, and we have our time to be upset, and then we wipe it. I think that's part of the business.

"You can wish you can get a throw back or a decision or whatever and then you have your one or two minutes and then right when the ball gets back to you, you don't remember it."

And as has been his custom, Young offered no pithy soundbites when asked the inevitable question about whether he ought to start again, saying as he has consistently, that it was out of his control.

"Obviously, I'm grateful to play," he said. "I'm a competitor, of course, I want to be on the field. But again, I trust the coaching staff; they're going to do what's best for the team. I'm going to, no matter what my role is, I'm going to be with the best for the team and do everything I can to contribute to winning football.

"And again, the beauty of it for me through all this is like the relationship with Andy. Great, great person, we're really close. So, we both know, regardless of whatever circumstances are, that we're going to be there for each other."