This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with retired Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl quarterback and color analyst Jake Delhomme.

In his interview with Easton Jr., Delhomme, courtesy of Gambling.com, discussed his career and thoughts on today's NFL players. He credited a past loss to the Kansas City Chiefs for Panthers quarterback Bryce Young's weekly improvement.

"I think we're (Carolina Panthers) getting towards a critical junction, to be quite honest. We have made some strides. I think it started toward the end of last year," said Delhomme. "Much of the focus will always be on Bryce Young, because so much was given up for him a few years ago, and it was a rocky start. I can't put the blame all on him. We were not a good football team around him. We've had some coaching changes, and he made some strides, and I think we, as a team, made some strides, especially over the last six or seven games of last year."

The Panthers hosted a wild-card playoff game last season after winning the NFC South for the first time in a decade.

"Bryce really started playing well, including the playoff game at home against the Rams, who were heavily favored. They are a really good football team, and I think that was one of the coming-out parties for the nation to see Bryce. He started this year and played pretty well, too," said Delhomme. "The last couple of weeks have been difficult. Tampa got after us, and we struggled with Green Bay. We're dealing with some injuries, like everyone else in the NFL. We made a change at defensive coordinator after last week's game, so that's new. We're at a crossroads. It's going to be tough."

In a 2024 Week 12 matchup against Kansas City, the Chiefs won 30-27; Young emerged with a strong performance, finishing with 263 yards and a passing touchdown without a turnover.

"That was December 2024, and I think 30-27 was the final, if I recall. I said something during that broadcast, and we chuckled about it, but it was later in the game. Bryce makes a throw, and Chris Jones literally ate him. He just ran right through him, but Bryce stood in the pocket and made the throw. I don't know if it was to Adam Thielen or to David Moore, but it was on the right side of the field. And I'm like, okay, you're feeling it, you're seeing it, you're sensing it. That was the game to me, because we all knew Kansas City, Mahomes. I'm a huge Mahomes fan and have been following him for a long time. I had a dear friend with the Chiefs organization for a while, and he's now with the Chicago Bears, so I was always a Chiefs fan and watched them. That was one of the steps where I thought, okay, we're starting to see it. We're giving him some pieces to work with."

During the now-defunct annual 'Quarterback Challenge', Delhomme beat out Ben Roethlisberger in the finals in 2005. The event featured a two-minute drill scenario, and Delhomme posted a time of 21.07 seconds to secure the title. He shared his thoughts on who would win in a hypothetical 'Quarterback Challenge' in 2026 among today's stars.

"Oh, wow. Let's consider what we got judged on. One was a long ball. One was running through bags, then running around and throwing a ball at the end, which was timed. Then there was an accuracy portion, and a two-minute drill with live receivers, NFL receivers. Those were the different competitions. I'm trying to think who would win it," said Delhomme. "I think Patrick (Mahomes) would be one if he were in it. I certainly think Josh Allen would be one. Caleb Williams: the arm strength, how accurate he is, and the way he can move. This is a special football player. So he would be one. I'm probably missing someone, but I wouldn't have a problem choosing any one of those three."