Week 1 Game Preview: Jaguars vs Panthers

Game: Panthers @ Jaguars

Location: Jacksonville, FL EverBank Stadium

Time: 1pm ET

Forecast: 88 Degrees and Sunny, Winds 5 to 10mph

Injury Report

This is the latest injury report available as of Friday morning at the time the article is written and isn't an official injury report for the game.

Jaguars

Montaric Brown- Doubtful

Wyatt Milum- Doubtful

Cole Van Lanen- Probable

Panthers

Ikem Ekwonu- Doubtful

Robert Hunt- Limited Practice

Damarri Mathis- Out

Damien Lewis- Limited Practice

A'Shawn Robinson- Limited Practice

The Panthers will also be missing two key pieces in Jalen Coker, who was placed on injured reserve, and running back Jonathon Brooks who has already been ruled out for the entirety of the 2025 season. Jalen Coker was Bryce Youngs top target last year. The Panthers will be a lot more banged up than the Jaguars coming into this game. At worst it looks like Jacksonville will only be missing a backup CB and two backup lineman although Van Lanen is expected to be available for the game. As it stands, the Panthers will be down their top WR, 3 starting lineman, and a backup corner when they take on the Jags.

Team's Breakdown

The Carolina Panthers will head to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in a battle of the Buccaneers past two offensive coordinators. Panthers HC Dave Canales will be in his second season and Jags HC Liam Coen will be in his first. Both QBs Bryce Young and Trevor Lawrence are former number 1 overall picks who have struggled with the bust label at times in their careers. For more on these guys check out Wednesdays QB breakdown.

On the offensive side of the ball Jacksonville is seemingly loaded with weapons. They have the deepest running back room in the league led by two explosive backs in Travis Ettiene and Tank Bigsby. Newly acquired WR Dyami Brown who had a great camp, will be joined by rookie and former Heisman winner WR/CB Travis Hunter and star WR Brian Thomas Jr who will be looking to build on a fantastic rookie season. TE Brenton Strange also figures to get a fair amount of targets in the passing game and looked good in relief of an injured Evan Engram last year. The biggest question mark for Jacksonville heading into the season is undoubtedly how the offensive line will look. This is a unit that has struggled heavily the past two seasons. They brought in two new starters at Center and RG but are returning LG Ezra Cleveland and both starting tackles Walker Little and Anton Harrison who both finished the season as bottom tier pass blockers. HC Liam Coen is gambling that the new additions and better coaching will lead to a better showing from this group this year. The Jaguars offense has big play potential if the O-line can hold up in pass protection and open up holes in the run game more consistently.

Carolina will be without top WR Jalen Coker so they'll have to lean heavily on 2nd year pro Xavier Legette and rookie Tet McMillan. Bruising running back Chuba Hubbard will seemingly be the focal point of this offense as HC Dave Canales will likely use a run heavy approach to protect his young QB, who will be missing three of his staring offensive lineman on Sunday. Behind Hubbard is former Cowboys back Rico Dowdle and the brother of Jags back Travis, Trevor Ettiene who has home run speed in his own right. I expect all 3 backs to get significant time for the Panthers this week.

On defense the Jags will lean on its defensive line and corners to try and control the game. JHA and Travon Walker form one of the best pass rushing duos in the NFL and they'll need to make the day miserable for a beat up Panther's O-line. The Jacksonville cornerback room has looked great all camp with very sticky coverage. They'll have two new starters in nickel Jourdan Lewis and second year corner Jarrian Jones along with long time starter Tyson Campbell. The Jaguars have much bigger question marks at Safety and LB. The safety room on paper is the team's biggest weakness by a mile. They'll be starting Eric Murray who graded below average last season and long time Jaguars backup Andrew Wingard. Outside of Foyesade Oluokon the Jags are a mystery at LB. They still haven't decided whether Devin Lloyd or Ventrell Miller will start next to Oluokon.

The Panther's defense looks to be a much more complete unit coming into this game than the Jags. They have an extremely talented D-line that features DE Derrick Brown and DT A'Shawn Robinson who are both capable of getting after the QB. LB is probably the Panthers biggest question mark on defense but I would argue is a more veteran unit than the Jags that features promising 2nd year man Trevin Wallace and solid veteran Christian Rozeboom on the inside. They're flanked by two solid pass rushers at OLB in Patrick Jones II and DJ Wonnum. They have a superstar at corner in Jaycee Horn who is capable of shutting down number 1 receivers and has a solid starter in Mike Jackson opposite of him. At safety Trevon Moehrig can be a big time playmaker who can force turnovers.

Game Predictions

Final Score: Jaguars 27 Panthers 10

I think the Jaguars have a chance to come out in Liam Coen's first game at the helm and dominate a beat up and less talented team in the Panther's. The Jaguars should be able to lean heavily on a deep running back room and control this game from the jump. If the Jags offense can get ahead early their pass rush can make it a long day for a make shift Panther's O-line and 3rd year QB Bryce Young. The Panthers game plan will almost certainly be to lean on Hubbard and take advantage of Bryce Youngs ability to throw with anticipation on shorter timing routes. Jacksonville should have enough firepower on offense to be effective against a talented Panther's defense early. If they can do that and force Bryce Young to try and push the ball downfield and throw into tight windows I like the Jags to force a couple game changing INTs.

Cool Thing That Will Happen

I called my shot in a previous blog and I'm sticking with it. I believe JHA will start the season with a 3 sack game and break the Jaguars franchise record for career sacks. He's currently 2.5 back from Jags legend Tony Brackens. We'll see if I get literally anything in this article right. Stay tuned sports fans.