Bryce Young has started eight NFL games. The quarterback has eight games remaining in his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers.

How does the former Alabama All-American feel about what’s happened so far?

“We’re all frustrated,” Young said after the one-win Panthers lost to the Chicago Bears 16-13 on Thursday night. “It’s a frustrating situation to be in. It’s not who we are, not who we want to be. But we are what we put on tape, what we put on the field, and we have to be better. Our defense balled. Great game start to finish. We have to be better. I have to be better, first and foremost. I have to be a lot better. We have to be better.

“It’s frustrating, very frustrating. And that’s not just me, that’s everyone. We’re competitors. Losing is frustrating. It’s fresh. You feel it. But at the end of the day, you got to turn the page, and being frustrated, however you feel, is not going to win you a game. It’s not going to help. You have to turn that and use that in action throughout the week, and then we have to translate it to Sunday or Thursday night or whatever. We have to translate it.

“We care. We work hard. I’m grateful to be playing with the guys that I am. We work hard. Throughout the week, we look good. We execute. We push. But we got to find a way to make that translate to the game, especially offensively. Again, first and foremost myself. I have to be better. I have to be better. And as a unit, we can’t put out performances like that. We’re better than that. We can’t put that out on the field. So, yeah, it’s very frustrating.”

On Oct. 29, Carolina defeated the Houston Texans 15-13 for its only victory of the season. Then Young threw three interceptions – two that were returned for touchdowns – in a 27-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. He had no interceptions on Thursday night, but for the second time in his career, no touchdowns passes either as the Panthers offense failed to reach the end zone.

Against Chicago, Young completed 21-of-38 passes for 185 yards and had 18 of Carolina’s 43 rushing yards on three carries.

“I thought he did some good things today,” Panthers coach Frank Reich said after Thursday night’s game. “I really did. We have to be better. It’s so easy to put it all on the quarterback, and that’s just not the case. We all have to be better. …

“I’m not worried about Bryce’s confidence. I think he’s mentally tougher than a lot of rookie quarterbacks. As a rookie quarterback considering the start we’ve had, I don’t think I see any retreat in him. That’s not the right word. I see aggressiveness. I see resolve. I see determination. And I feel like he’s taking ownership of it, and he’s taking probably more ownership of it than he should because it’s a group effort. But the quarterback and head coach are always going to be at the center of it. That’s just the way it is. So it’s just a credit to him for taking responsibility for the whole offense, when in fact, it’s not just him.

“Can he be better? Sure. Can I be better? Absolutely. Can we all be better on offense? 100 percent, for sure. It’s a shared deal.”

After Chicago took a 16-10 lead with the game’s only offensive touchdown with 6:33 left in the third quarter, Carolina had three possessions.

The Panthers punted from the Bears 45 on fourth-and-5, got a 39-yard field goal from Eddy Pineiro on fourth-and-5 from the Chicago 20 and tried a 59-yard field goal on fourth-and-10 at the Bears 41. Pineiro was short on his attempt with 1:35 to play.

“It was a tough decision,” Reich said of his choice to try the final field goal. “As far as the percentages, I listened to the analytics guys. There was mixed opinions about what we should do. It’s my call. I’ve seen us make 60-yarders in practice. Felt like there was a little bit of a breeze at our back. If you look at just the pure percentages, the pure percentage play is to kick it. A fourth-and-10 conversion is probably 30 percent. A 60-yard field goal is higher than that.

“Do I second-guess myself over it? Yeah, after we missed it.”

The final field goal came after Carolina used 14 plays to move from its 9-yard line to the Chicago 41. Young had a 2-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the Panthers 18-yard line and a 13-yard completion on fourth-and-13 at the Carolina 46.

But after the Panthers reached the Bears 41, Young had three consecutive incompletions, with linebacker Jack Sanborn nearly intercepting the third-down pass when he fooled Young with a blitz fake.

“Read a blitz,” Young said. “Dropped out under the zone, under the spot where I was throwing. Again, have to see that. …

“A 15-play drive is great. It’s awesome. But a 15-play drive with no points is the same as a one-play drive with no points.”

In its next game, Carolina plays the Dallas Cowboys at noon CST Nov. 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.