Jaguars 26 Panthers 10: Post Game Analysis

Great start for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they pick up a convincing win at home against the Panthers. The defense showed their ability to be a stingy unit holding the Panthers to just 3 points until a late touchdown with the game already very much decided. The offense wasn't quite as crisp but it is the season opener and I think this Panthers Defense will be a good unit that's held back by a lack of explosion on offense.

The offensive game plan looked far more creative than it ever had under Doug Pedersen from the jump. They picked up a 4th down and 1 on their own 37 with a brilliantly schemed up end around. There were a few mistakes early as as a few costly penalties including a couple of holds and an intentional grounding stalled out the first drive. The Jags settled for 3 points on the opening drive.

The defense looked sharp until third down for most of the Panthers opening drive. They had a chance to force a punt early but Devin Lloyd lost contain on Bryce Young and he scrambled for a first down. On the next third down Campbell gave Tet McMillan way too much cushion on a 3rd and 7 and the pass rush just barely missed getting to Bryce Young. They eventually rallied and free agent addition Jourdan Lewis came up with a huge pass deflection to stall out the Panthers drive and force a field goal.

After that it was all Jags from there. Eric Murray and Jourdan Lewis were in perfect position on a late Bryce Young through. The pass was deflected and Foyesade Oluokon made a great play on the ball to come up with a big INT. Jacksonville capitalized on a short field and Trevor Lawrence was able to connect with Hunter Long on a beautifully designed play from about 7 yards out. A run fake got the entire defense going left while Lawrence rolled right and found Long wide open.

Travis Ettiene was the best player on offense for the Jaguars gaining 143 yards on the ground on 16 carries. His best run of the day was a 71 yard gain from the Jags own 9 yard line that completely flipped the field and led to a Brian Thomas Jr TD on an end around call. Again Liam Coen and the offense flexed their creativity and in the red zone and found a way to get into the end zone.

The pass rush underwhelmed against a shaky Panthers O-line. They failed to stay in rush lanes on multiple occasions that led to Bryce Young having open scramble lanes to pick up key first downs. The secondary however, was a completely different story. We should start with CB Jourdan Lewis because he was everywhere on the field in his debut. He had a deflection that led to a pick, forced a fumble on Bryce Young in Jags territory, and sealed the game with an INT of Bryce Young late in the 4th. Maybe the best Jags debut I can remember in a long time. Jacksonville was heavily criticized for overpaying him in FA but it looks like he was worth every penny so far. The rest of the secondary was great for most of the day. the played aggressive, didn't give many open looks, and hit receivers hard in space if they did get open. They were the Jags best unit.

The Jaguars made a great first step towards getting back to the playoffs this year. They weren't perfect but they beat up and handily beat a banged up Panthers team and that's what you have to do in that situation. They'll have to figure out a way to get Brian Thomas Jr the ball more as he only had 1 catch for 11 yards. Travis Hunter looked solid in his debut though bring down 6 catches for 33 yards. Brenton Strange was the teams best blocker all day and was able to stretch the field with 4 catches for 59 yards. He had a great first game as he takes over the starting role full time from Evan Engram.

Jacksonville will have a tough test next week as they take on the Bengals in Cincinnati. The secondary will face a much tougher test in a top 5 quarterback in Joe Burrow and the best receiving duo in the league. The pass rush will have to step up more in that game to help them out. I expect a much cleaner Trevor Lawrence and much more involved Thomas Jr next week against a weaker Bengals defense.

I think this teamed showed what a lot of us thought. They have the potential to be a playoff contender. The only thing standing in the way is consistency and good QB play. Always exciting to start a season 1-0. Lets go celebrate an solid week 1 victory! GO Jags! and as always Stay tuned sports fans!