Carolina Panthers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Final Score: Jaguars 26, Panthers 10
Writer: Raymi Chavez
Always love a big cat battle to open the season. The Jaguars proved superior this time around. The Jaguars came out moving the ball downfield, only being beaten by their own holding calls. The two teams exchanged field goals, and it looked like we were in for a back-and-forth afternoon. That changed up quickly with a Bryce Young interception that led to a Jaguars passing touchdown, and the momentum was completely swung. Even a one-hour and 16-minute lightning weather delay couldn’t help the Panthers, as the Jaguars seemed to come out of the delay with even more energy. This game was no longer ever in question as the Jaguars easily cruised to a blowout victory to open the season on the right foot.
Three Up
- Travis Etienne Jr. – The Jaguars RB room was one of the more hotly contested and up-in-the-air rooms in the league. Etienne came in as the clear lead back and came out with an even firmer grip on the lead spot.
- Brenton Strange – All the positive reports out of training camp proved to be true as Strange stepped up at the TE position, making the loss of Evan Engram irrelevant.
- Tetairoa McMillan – The Panthers’ rookie WR is visibly a playmaker, making a couple of hotly contested grabs and almost pulling in three or four others. The kid is legit.
Two Down
- Briant Thomas Jr. – A gadget rushing touchdown saved him from a brutal day, but he was otherwise invisible in the passing game.
- Xavier Legette – With Thielen out of town and Coker on the IR, things were lining up for Legette to make a serious impact as the number two target in the offense. He did not help his QB out at all, making a couple of unforced errors.
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Bryce Young: 18/35, 154 Yards, TD, 2 INT | 5 Carries, 40 Yards, Fumble (LOST)
The stat line paints a far worse picture than the actual performance. Bryce Young wasn’t as great as he ended last season, but he was generally solid. Escaping the pocket and gaining good chunk running plays when plays broke down, and consistently putting the ball on the money throughout. He had a bad interception in the first half, but was recovering nicely. Unfortunately, a great pass to Xavier Legette was wiped off by Legette lazily, only getting one foot in bounds, and his next attempt went right through Chuba Hubbard‘s hands. This led to a third and long that forced Bryce into making a hero run to get the first down; he fumbled, and the game, if not already, was over. His chemistry with McMillan was encouraging, and if he corrects a couple of underthrows, his stat line would be much stronger.
Running Back
Chuba Hubbard: 16 Carries, 57 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 32 Yards, TD
Chuba was in a great rhythm to start the game. With a handful of chunk plays, he was looking like the most reliable part of the offense. He had a couple of quiet series, including a brutal drop that preceded the Bryce Young fumble, and he was taken out for a series. Seemed like it took him out of rhythm in the run game, but he was able to make up for it with a late 30-yard receiving touchdown. Hubbard is the clear bellcow in Carolina; his snap share is very promising. If the Panthers can stay in games, then the run game can stay in rhythm, and he can produce.
Rico Dowdle: 3 Carries, 12 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards
Dowdle was consistently used as a third-down back in the offense. He was given a couple of series to tote the ball and didn’t do a whole lot with it. He is a firm backup to Chuba Hubbard at this point.
Trevor Etienne: 1 Carry, 4 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Tetairoa McMillan: 9 Targets, 5 Receptions, 68 Yards
McMillan’s production doesn’t jump off the page, but he was clearly the alpha option in the Carolina offense. Bryce Young repeatedly threw the ball to McMillan to give him a chance to make something happen, and he was seriously inches away from two or three highlight plays. This game gave me plenty of confidence in McMillan going forward. Bryce Young trusts him and will depend on him all year long.
Xavier Legette: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 10 Yards
Legette was a big disappointment. Losing yards going backwards trying to make a play, not getting his feet in bounds on mundane catches, he was primed to be able to produce for Carolina, and did not come through.
Hunter Renfrow: 6 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Renfrow was targeted often in this game and really did about as much as he could with the targets he had. One was underthrown by Young that could have easily been six points had he hit him in stride. I could easily see Renfrow becoming the number two option over Legette in short order if the latter doesn’t improve his play.
Ja’Tavion Sanders: 3 Targets, 27 Yards
The young tight end wasn’t too much of a factor in the passing game, but had a nice 18-yard gain that showed his potential. A potentially great streaming option down the line.
Tommy Tremble: 1 Target, 2 Yards
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 19/31, 178 Yards, TD, INT | 4 Carries, 12 Yards
Lawrence was clinical for much of this game. He stood in the pocket with confidence and rifled in completions all over the place. He and Brian Thomas Jr. seemed to struggle to get on the same page, but he offset that with beautiful chemistry with Brenton Strange. In one series, he had two off-target throws to BTJ during a three-and-out, and then on the following series, he overthrew BTJ before underthrowing Travis Hunter on a fantastic one-handed interception by Horn. The good clearly outweighed the bad in this game, and I am certainly mostly confident with how Lawrence played. Just want to take some caution with the moments when he was very inaccurate.
Running Back
Travis Etienne: 16 Carries, 143 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 13 Yards
All questions about who would lead this backfield have been put to bed for the meantime. Etienne was clearly Liam Coen’s first choice, and Etienne rewarded his first-year head coach with some stellar play. Chunk play after chunk play was highlighted by a 71-yard run from their own goalline to the red zone. He didn’t find the endzone, but he currently has the edge in Jacksonville.
Tank Bigsby: 5 Carries, 12 Yards
Bigsby was the third running back to see the field, but he ended up seeming like Coen’s preferred second option. A minimal impact in the game could see him fall down the pecking order.
Bhayshul Tuten: 3 Carries, 11 Yards
Tuten was the last of the running backs to see the field. Only given a couple of carries, he wasn’t able to utilize his 4.32-second 40 time to make much of an impact.
LeQuint Allen Jr.: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Surprisingly, Allen Jr. was the second running back on the field and at first really looked to be Coen’s second choice. He did seem to pop a little on screen, but Coen leaned on the rest of his RB room the rest of the way.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Brian Thomas Jr.: 7 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards | 1 Carry, 9 Yards, TD
BTJ owners were truly bailed out by his unexpected rushing touchdown. Regardless, it was still a vastly underwhelming performance from Brian Thomas Jr. Not all of his uncaught targets were his fault, but even when he had a chance to make a play, he failed to. After the type of season he had in 2024, I have complete faith that this will be his worst performance of the season.
Travis Hunter: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 33 Yards
To the excitement of fantasy owners (who don’t play IDP), Hunter was rarely used on defense and was constantly used on offense. Hunter is the clear short to intermediate range target and dominated out of the slot. In PPR leagues, Hunter will have a really solid floor. This was an exciting opening game for his young career.
Brenton Strange: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 59 Yards
One of my favourite low-cost tight ends, Strange, has proved me right so far. His promising end-of-season performances with Mac Jones and company at quarterback had me thinking optimistically about how he’d perform as the number one tight end. The Jaguards went to him early, as he seemed to factor heavily into the scripted plays. He was quiet for a little but after that, his game today figures to be closer to his normal week-to-week performance.
Hunter Long: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards, TD
Snuck across the defense on a goal line play action pass after Etienne came out strong. Easy touchdown. It might be his only one of the season so long as Strange is healthy.
Johnny Mundt: 1 Target