Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Monday that his decision to bench Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton comes down to one overriding factor: Dalton gives Carolina the best chance to win.

Canales said that after reviewing film of Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Chargers, he spoke with general manager Dan Morgan and executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tillis before making the decision and informing the quarterbacks this morning.

“There are a lot of factors that go into this decision, and ultimately it just fell on my shoulders to make the best decision for our group to give us the best chance to win this week,” Canales said at his press conference on Monday. “And we focus on the weeks, we focus on the challenge that lies ahead of us. We feel that Andy gives us the best chance to meet the challenge.

“This was my decision. This is our football team. This is trying to win every week. And while it’s my decision, I’m gathering information from the people who are critical to making these types of decisions. But this is something that I feel like gives us an opportunity to take a step forward in our style of play and be able to compete with a really good Raiders team this week.”

Canales didn’t say it, but his words, tone and behavior made it seem like this wasn’t a temporary bench to give Young a break before he’s put back in the lineup. Instead, Canales kept saying that he and the team were focused on this week alone.

“We’re focused on getting Andy ready to play the Raiders,” Canales said. “And that’s how we’re going to go about it — we’re going to attack the Raiders. We’re going to attack this week and get that mentality and the things that we’re looking for.

“I don’t want to get into timelines,” Canales added later. “I just know Andy is giving us the best chance to win right now.”

Canales also has not proposed a plan for Young to return to QB1.

“I’m really hoping he shows up every day, works hard, focuses on his job and continues to push himself,” Canales said. “Andy’s going to get the relevant reps for our practices. He’s going to be in the first group. We’re going to ask him to step into the huddle and continue to push the ball forward as we grow into the offense that I think we can become.”

When asked how this would impact Young and his confidence, especially as the No. 1 pick in the draft, Canales said those factors were discussed.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I just owe it to all the guys — the coaches, the staff, the players, everyone involved — to really be critical of what we’re putting on film, what I’m seeing, and make sure I’m consistently making the best decision for the team every week,” Canales said. “And it happens to be the quarterback position, so it’s loaded that way. But it’s every position. And it’s all the guys. And I was able to stand in front of the team and challenge all the guys, that we’ve all got to step up our passion for what we do to play the style of play that we’re looking for.”

And when it comes to the question of how Young can best respond, Canales kept it simple.

“Yeah, just a standard of NFL football,” Canales said. “Show up, work hard, be focused, be committed, give it your all every day, strive to be your best and grow.”

Through two games this season, Young has completed 55 percent of his throws for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s averaging just 4.4 yards per attempt with a 44.1 passer rating.