Jaguars All-22 Review: Key Takeaways From Win vs. Carolina

The Jacksonville Jaguars are victors to begin the 2025 season after an impressive win over the Carolina Panthers, 26-10. The win marked Liam Coen as the lone first-year head coach in the NFL to win on opening weekend and helped build momentum, along with a speck of confidence, ahead of their road trip up north to Cincinnati.

That confidence is warranted after Sunday's win. I took the pleasure of looking into the All-22 coaches' film to get a better context on how players performed in Week 1. I came away impressed with the direction of both sides of the ball, with the arrow pointing upward heading into a key road game against the Bengals. Here are my key takeaways from the tape, including several quick hitters at the end.

Trevor Lawrence shows growth in Sunday's win vs. Panthers

Lawrence Jag — Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) looks on after a game against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

It is all smiles for Lawrence with his first opening weekend victory in a few years. The fifth-year quarterback from Clemson is off to a steady start to his big year, completing 19 of 31 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. It was not a perfect game, as some mechanical issues did rear their ugly head with some misses during the game.

However, what I did see was a clear improvement from the previous year, especially with body mechanics and eye discipline. I saw a signal-caller with more deliberate and snappy footwork paired with precise and tempoed footwork based on the play concept or design. He took off with the football when he needed to, but he needs to slide more for better protection.

This play in particular stood out for me: it's 2nd & long after a penalty as the Jaguars come out with 11 personnel (3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 RB). Wide receiver Dyami Brown is motioned from the boundary to the field side. At the snap, the Panthers send an overload blitz to the left side as Walker Little is beaten by pass rusher D.J. Wonnum.

On the field side, the deep hitch from Brian Thomas Jr. draws No. 22 Lathan Ransom. Travis Hunter draws the nickel and free safety on the deep post, leaving Brown on the deep dig. Watch Lawrence's drop and footwork: it is precise, and the timing and tempo are excellent as he does a swell job of stepping up into the pocket and layering this pass for a 20-plus yard completion.

Lawrence must continue to show growth, and a road trip against a lowly Bengals secondary could prove to be a productive day in the air.

Trevor Lawrence was *great* production wise, and he did have some throws he’d want back in the 2nd half.

His tempo, footwork, overall mechanics, accuracy, and decision-making were sound against the Panthers.

Room for improvement, but arrow 📈. #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/EEZnnwF5AO
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 9, 2025

Travis Etienne has arrived, again...and so has Liam Coen

It makes sense why Jacksonville traded Tank Bigsby, as keeping four running backs was never going to be sustainable. Plus, Etienne had one of his better games of his career with 143 yards on just 16 carries, including a 71-yard run after the weather delay in the second quarter.

Throughout the game, I was very impressed with the burst and balance Etienne had. He played with quality vision and patience behind the line of scrimmage, and followed his blockers and pullers to maximize yardage. Head coach Liam Coen also stood out with his run game creativity, confirming he is arguably the best in football in this area as an offensive play-caller.

However, I want to look at Etienne's big run. It's the first play of the drive, and it sets up another touchdown for Jacksonville. The concept is a split zone run, as Strange does a good job with the kickout block on playside from a split flow. Etienne uses great vision and feet pairing to bounce the run inside out and force one-on-one with the safety, using good lateral quickness, burst, and balance to maintain footing, while the rest was history.

#Jaguars run game was exceptional vs. Carolina (hello Liam).

Great kick out from Strange. The vision, balance, patience and lateral burst from Etienne did the rest. pic.twitter.com/AXDZ4NfNX3
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 9, 2025

Josh Hines-Allen remains the best player on the roster

Hey, box score scouts: I hate to ruin the fun, but Jaguars pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen had a great game against the Panthers. His eight pressures are tied for the second-most in the NFL from Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats on NFL Pro. His run defense was sound, per usual, as he set the edge and squeezed gaps to minimize yards before and after contact.

Hines-Allen toyed with Panthers backup left tackle Yosh Nijman from the first quarter to one of his final drives. His explosiveness and quickness were exceptional and overwhelming for Nijman, often, with speed-to-power, dip/rip, hand swipes, clubs, and bend around the corner.

This is just a really fun player in for another big year, and he seems more to be off the proverbial leash as he attacked at will. The sacks will come, so rest easy, Jaguars fans.

Josh Hines-Allen is tied for 2nd in the NFL in pressures (8), per NGS.#Jaguars top superstar was on one vs. Panthers LT Yosh Nijman. pic.twitter.com/PWGJeUAcrO
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) September 9, 2025

Quick hitting notes from the Jaguars All-22

Coen called an excellent game against a creative Evero defense. The run game was exceptional, as I noted before. There was a combination of trap, base, duo, stretch, and more run concepts. Motions and play fakes had Carolina's linebackers biting the cheese hard throughout the game. Pivot routes will be a big piece of the offense when using tight end Brenton Strange for run-after-catch opportunities.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and Carolina Panthers head coach Liam Coen has words during the second quarter of an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium Sunday September 7, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jourdan Lewis did a fantastic job at nickelback. There were times he became the force defender against runs bounced to the outside. He had well-timed blitzes that affected timing…locked down Renfrow, played with good spacing in zone drops, and flashed disruptiveness at the line of scrimmage. He was as advertised for Jacksonville's defense.

Well done, Anthony Campanile. The Jaguars' first-year defensive coordinator was essentially the anti-Dave Canales, seemingly attacking his offense in every possible way and putting quarterback Bryce Young in tough spots throughout the game. Players like free safety Eric Murray and star linebacker Foyesade Oluokun made big plays throughout the game, showcasing the aggressive, yet disciplined attitude of Campanile's team.

Jacksonville's offensive line did its job against the Panthers. I was thoroughly impressed with what they did throughout the game, especially in pass protection and run blocking overall. Penalties were a constant issue that could plague them this season, and there were some iffy moments from one player or another during the game, especially from Little and left guard Ezra Cleveland. They'll need to clean this up ahead of next week against Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart.

Check in each week for the latest All-22 reviews, and make sure you are following along for the rest of the Jaguars season over on X (formerly Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley.

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