Why Jaguars Need to Prove Doubters Wrong vs. Panthers

There's a lot of positivity surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars coming into the 2025 NFL season. That could be said about virtually any team beginning a new campaign. It's not often that a fanbase is completely out on its franchise's prospects, especially when it's clearly actively trying to win.

However, it's a bit different for the Jaguars. They had a severely disappointing season in 2024, going just 4-13 despite being several years into a rebuild and winning 18 games the two years prior. Now, they've kept their top talent while adding a flurry of promising new pieces.

They've also overhauled their sideline, bringing in Head Coach Liam Coen and two new coordinators to revamp the system.

Most of the optimism in Jacksonville stems from the potential of what Coen can do with all of the weapons on the Jaguars' offense. They have a good opportunity to start the new era off with a win against a supposed lesser opponent in the Carolina Panthers. The Jaguars are favored to begin their season with a victory, but not everyone is sold on this team's potential.

Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, NFL, Vonn Bell, Travis Etienne Jr. — Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) rushes for yards en route to a touchdown score as Carolina Panthers safety Vonn Bell (24) can't make the tackle during the third quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars blanked the Carolina Panthers 26-0. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jaguars picked to lose Week 1 vs. Panthers

Not only are the Jacksonville Jaguars expected to be much more competent this season, but the Carolina Panthers have some glaring question marks as well heading into the 2025 campaign. Bryce Young showed some of the elite intangibles that made him the first-overall pick in 2023 at the tail end of the year, but he's far from an established NFL quarterback.

Their wide receiver corps is extremely suspect, after trading away Adam Thielen and losing Jalen Coker to short-term IR. They've added rookie Tetairoa McMillan and slot veteran Hunter Renfrow, but no one's expecting their wideouts to be an elite unit.

Last season, Carolina's defense gave up the most points in NFL history. However, CBS Sports' Steven Taranto is encouraged by Derrick Brown's return, enough to pick them to upset the Jaguars in Week 1:

"The Jaguars are favored in this matchup at -3.5 [on FanDuel], which may have been expected given their star power and the fact that they are going up against a Panthers team that featured a historically pitiful defense one year ago. However, Carolina was without Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown for virtually the entire season, and they still managed to become a team that could play with almost anyone down the stretch, including when they gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles as much as they could handle on the road in Philadelphia."

4th & 2 with the game on the line. Eagles send 6.

Bryce Young displays high-level poise and composure in the pocket to throw an accurate far-hash pass to Thielen to convert.

Again, absolute baller. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/zJsSfAmxph
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) December 9, 2024

"I still expect the excitement of last season's ending -- specifically the complete 180 done by Bryce Young -- to carry into 2025, and I think it starts with a win over a Jaguars team that has to prove it's a cohesive team and not just another collection of talent."

It's not outrageous to doubt Jacksonville's prospects this season, especially in Week 1. Their clash against the Panthers will be Liam Coen's debut as an NFL head coach. There are bound to be some growing pains along the way. The Jaguars will simply have to use this as bulletin board material and prove Taranto wrong.

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