Derrick Brown and Nic Scourton key Panthers' season-best sack fest vs. Jets

It was hard-earned, but the Carolina Panthers got their first road victory of 2025 via a 13-6 triumph over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Dave Canales’s club made it three straight wins, the franchise’s longest victory streak since opening 3-0 in 2021. The 4-3 Panthers are also above .500 for the first time since ’21.

While the Carolina offense deserves plenty of credit in these last three games, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s unit has made some strides as well. The team allowed a total of 131 rushing yards to the Dolphins (19), Cowboys (31), and Jets (81). The Panthers have limited four of their first seven opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. Canales’s team managed to do that just once in 17 outings in 2024.

On Sunday against Aaron Glenn’s team, Evero’s defense obviously took advantage of an offense coming off a 13-11 loss to the Broncos in London in which Jets’ quarterback Justin Fields was sacked nine times. Led by Derrick Brown (2.0) and 2025 second-round draft choice Nic Scourton (1.5), the Panthers dropped Fields (3) and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor (3) a combined six times. That’s pretty significant considering Carolina defenders totaled a mere five sacks in their first six games this season.

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton (11) tackles New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) during a game at MetLife Stadium, Oct 19, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA. | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Along with Brown and Scourton, safety Tre’von Moehrig (1.0), defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson (1.0) and rookie edge-rusher Princely Umanmielen (0.5) also contributed to that sack total. Ironically, the six sacks were the team’s highest quarterback trap total since Week 1 of 2021, when they sacked then-Jets’ quarterback Zach Wilson six times in a 19-14 win at Charlotte.

A little proper perspective. The 0-7 Jets have allowed 31 sacks—20 of those in their last three games. Still, this may be the game that winds up jumpstarting a Carolina pass rush that general manager Dan Morgan put a lot of work into this offseason in terms of adding talent.

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