Rookie quarterback Bryce Young “is making steps and strides,” Carolina coach Frank Reich said, but the Panthers keep losing, and the postmortem always seems to circle back to pass protection.

On Sunday, Carolina kept possession of the NFL’s worst record by dropping to 1-10 with a 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Young was sacked four times to bring his total to 40 for the season, and the former Alabama All-American managed to scramble away three times for 23 yards. On one of the sacks, Young lost a fumble, setting up the Titans at the 15-yard line for running back Derrick Henry’s second touchdown run of the game and a 14-3 lead for Tennessee with 2:27 left in the first half.

Carolina’s offensive line also got three holding penalties.

“The message is we got to do a better job on offense of coaching and playing as far as protecting the passer,” Reich said. “Too many sacks, too many pressures. And then holding calls. We got to do a better job so we can stay in phase and give Bryce more time.

“I thought there were times when Bryce looked good throwing the ball down the field. We had a few nice chunk plays like that. So as coaches and players, we got to find a way to protect the quarterback.”

Trailing 17-3 at halftime, Carolina opened the second half with an 11-play, 67-yard touchdown drive. Young had a 6-yard scramble on third-and-4, Tennessee got two defensive penalties and the rookie QB connected with running back Chuba Hubbard for a 25-yard gain to the Titans 13-yard line. Four more runs – one by Young and three by Hubbard – got the Panthers into the end zone with 8:06 left in the third quarter.

But Carolina did not penetrate the Tennessee 48 in the remainder of the game.

“It gives a lot of juice, a lot of energy,” Young said of the touchdown drive coming out of halftime. “We have to do a better job of just building on that. For us, it shows what we can do. We just have to make sure we’re doing it consistently, so when we do get that, we can build on it. That’s something that we definitely want to improve on moving forward.”

Young completed 18-of-31 passes for 194 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

On the way to a field goal in the first half, Young scrambled for 11 yards on third-and-10 and hit a 13-yard pass on fourth-and-3 on a drive derailed by a holding penalty.

“I think Bryce is making steps and strides, and I thought he did today,” Reich said. “I thought he did a lot of good things today. I thought he pushed the ball down the field pretty well a few times. Had some nice scrambles. Was poised. Even when he gets hit, he continues to show physical toughness and to bounce back. He doesn’t flinch. I saw him on the sideline talking to the guys before the last drive. He’s poised. He’s excited to go out there for that last drive. We have confidence in him. We just need to help him out a little more.”

The Panthers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 3:05 p.m. CST Dec. 3 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It’s the middle stop in a three-game road trip.

“What are you going to do?” Reich said. “You’re 1-10. What are you going to do – feel sorry for yourself? Think something is going to magically fix everything? No.

“We lost a close football game today. These games are winnable. That message doesn’t fly when you’re 1-10. But I know these games are winnable. I know we have the players and coaches to do that, so we regroup and we get ready for this week.”

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

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