It seems like only the calendar changes when it comes to seeing success from the Carolina Panthers when it comes to season openers.
The 2025 opener took place in Jacksonville last Sunday and the result was a 26-10 loss to the Jaguars.
Bryce Young will get much of the blame for how his third straight season-opening loss took place. He lost a fumble after a scramble that took away a field goal opportunity. He had two interceptions and almost a third for a pick-six that was called back because of defensive holding.
Thinking I have seen Young struggle in past openers, I went back and looked at his stats in Week One performances. In total, Young has seven career turnovers and just two touchdown passes. In short, Sunday’s outing brought back bad memories. It washed away memories of Young finishing last season with the NFL’s third-highest Total QBR over the final three games.
On Sunday, Young completed 18 of 35 passes for just 154 yards and a 49.0 passer rating. Still, there were others who can share in the blame. The numbers for Young would have been better if rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan did not drop a perfectly thrown ball by Young in the end zone.
I also saw snaps from center that went all over the place, many of which caught Young off guard because of the pressure the Jaguars put on center Austin Corbett.
The issues weren’t limited to the offense. The defense that couldn’t stop the run all of last season gave up 200 ground yards, including a 71-yarder by Travis Etienne Jr. in the first half that led to a touchdown.
Looking so inept on both sides of the ball against a Jaguars team coming off a 4-13 season, worse than Carolina’s 5-12 mark, is also a familiar sight. Every time fans feel the rebuild might be over, this franchise seems to take steps backward
This didn’t look like the team Head Coach Dave Canales liked so much in training camp, when he said opponents “won’t want to play us.”
Actually, it has been a long time since any team did not want to play the Panthers.
