The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to get their first victory of the 2025 season when they welcome the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. And while winning is never easy in the NFL, they have a few things going in their favor.
For starters, the Jags won't be missing any key players. Sure, Montaric Brown and Wyatt Milum have already been ruled out for the bout, but both of them might've been taken on backup roles if they had been available.
On the other hand, Panthers left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is listed as doubtful as he recovers from an appendectomy. Even if he plays, he probably won't be 100 percent, so Jaguars edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen will probably have the edge.
If that wasn't enough, the Jacksonville secondary has a favorable matchup against the Carolina wide receivers, even though Brown will miss the bout. This begs the question, what should be expected from the Jags in the season opener?
With that in mind, here are three bold predictions for the Jaguars in Week 1:
Trevor Larwence will throw for 3 TDs with no INT
Trevor Lawrence threw for more than one touchdown with no interceptions once in 2024, a loss to the Houston Texans. And if you want to look for the last time he had three touchdowns and more, you would have to go back to 2023, when he had three tuddies and three picks against the Cleveland Browns. Not surprisingly, No. 16 has been getting plenty of heat ahead of the 2025 season.
The good news is that Lawrence has made notable strides under Liam Coen and has been putting in extra work before the game. He'll show the fruit of his work when he throws for three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.
Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne will combine for 120+ yards and one touchdown
Even though Tank Bigsby got the lion's share of the workload in training camp, Travis Etienne ended up getting the starting nod in the preseason and will tentatively be No. 1 against the Panthers. That said, it won't matter who starts, as head coach Liam Coen plans to use a backfield committee, so both Bigsby and Etienne could have a similar amount of carries.
But regardless of who ends up getting more snaps, Bigsby and Etienne will combine for more than 120+ yards and one touchdown.
Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker will log a combined 5 sacks for the Jaguars
One of the biggest storylines surrounding Ryan Nielsen's time as the Jaguars defensive coordinator was that he rubbed players the wrong way with his arrogant demeanor. Another thing that raised eyebrows about his one-year stint was that he asked his defensive linemen to bulk up. On paper, this made sense, as it would prevent them from being pushed around. In practice, it affected their stamina and overall production.
Fast forward to 2025, and Nielsen is gone, while Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen are back at their playing weight. With Anthony Campanile now calling the shots, these bookend pass rushers are in a position to wreak havoc next season.
Hines-Allen and Travon Walker will make their case as the best pair of edge rushers with a five-sack performance against Carolina in Week 1.