Eddy Pineiro kicked a field goal – finally – with no time left to lift the Carolina Panthers to their first victory of the season and Bryce Young to his first win as an NFL quarterback on Sunday.

Carolina entered Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans with an 0-6 record, with Young as the Panthers’ quarterback in five of those games. But Carolina came away with a 15-13 victory over the Houston Texans when Pineiro’s 23-yard field goal capped a 15-play, 86-yard drive that took up the final 6:17 of the game.

“I’m super, super, super happy for this team, to be a part of this team,” Young said. “Super proud to be a part of this team. A really resilient win and it took all 11, all 22 on both sides of the ball, all three phases, it took everyone, so I’m just grateful to be a part of this team.”

On Carolina’s final possession, Young completed five consecutive passes for 50 yards after starting the series with an incompletion. Four of the completions picked up first downs, including a 4th-and-2 throw from the Houston 47-yard line for a 3-yard gain that kept the Panthers moving after a 9-yard loss on a sack.

After Carolina reached the Texans 30, running back Chuba Hubbard carried the football five times before Young centered the spot at the 20 for Piniero with three seconds left.

Piniero’s missed extra point was the reason the Panthers trailed by one.

“You love opportunities like that,” Young said, “when you go in and have the chance to end the game on your terms, to try to go out and take the game down one. What else would you hope for? It’s why we play the game.”

On Piniero’s first attempt, Houston was offsides and penalized half the distance to the goal for running into the Carolina holder. On Piniero’s next attempt, Houston was offside again and was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for committing the same infraction. With the football now at Texans 5, Piniero made the kick again.

“It’s definitely an exciting feeling,” Young said, “because we know wins aren’t easy to come by in this league. It’s great to get on the board, great to get one. Right now, obviously, we’re fresh. Everyone’s enjoying it, and we’re super happy about it. There’s a lot of excitement, but at the same time, tomorrow we come back and watch the film. And there’s a lot of stuff that we still can get better at, still can improve at. We don’t want to be the team that got a win on Week 8. We have to keep building off this. And that’s a long journey, that’s a long road, and that’s going to come with the work that comes throughout the week.”

Young completed 22-of-35 passes for 235 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. His passing-efficiency rating of 103.6 was the best of his career.

Young tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tommy Tremble as Carolina cut Houston’s lead to 7-6 with 1:35 left in the first half.

The Panthers picked Young from Alabama with the first choice in the NFL Draft on April 27. The Texans followed Carolina’s selection of the Crimson Tide All-American by taking Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud.

In Sunday’s game, Stroud completed 16-of-24 passes for 140 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions as he sought to deliver a fourth victory for the Texans. Houston won three games last season.

Young and Stroud became the fifth pair of quarterbacks picked with the first two selections in the same draft to square off as rookies in the NFL’s Super Bowl era:

· In 1993, No. 2 pick Rick Mirer and the Seattle Seahawks defeated No. 1 pick Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots 17-14.

· In 1998, No. 1 pick Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts defeated No. 2 pick Ryan Leaf and the San Diego Chargers 17-12.

· In 2015, No. 2 pick Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans defeated No. 1 pick Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-14.

· In 2021, No. 2 pick Zach Wilson and the New York Jets defeated No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-21.

“That’s my dog; that’s my brother,” Young said of Stroud. “I have a ton of love and respect for him. But it’s not a one-on-one game out there.”

The Panthers play the Indianapolis Colts at 3:05 p.m. CST Nov. 5 at Bank of American 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.