The Jacksonville Jaguars were favored to beat the Carolina Panthers in the season opener, so nobody batted an eye when they beat their interconference rival. What stood out was that the Jags dominated throughout the game, and never did they take their foot off the gas pedal.
On the other hand, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young regressed after finishing 2024 strong. To make matters worse, a clip of him during the loss surfaced that doesn't paint a great picture of him.
The Jaguars' Jumbotron was too much of a distraction for Bryce Young
Teams usually have advertisements and show all kinds of stuff on the massive screens they have at the stadiums. This is done to keep fans engaged throughout the game. However, Bryce Young couldn't help himself and kept staring at the Jumbotron at EverBank Stadium while the game was taking place. Here's a clip of him being distracted, via Twitter user @RandomJaguars.
Bryce Young being distracted by the mini games on the Jumbotron in the middle of a game while being down is objectively hilarious pic.twitter.com/Wf9eYyhyL4
— Random Jaguars History (@RandomJaguars) September 8, 2025
The first overall pick in 2023, Young struggled in the loss to the Jaguars, completing 51.4 percent of his throws for 154 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. It's worth noting that his touchdown pass came late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.
On the other hand, Young had 40 yards on five scrambles, but he was routinely rattled by the Jacksonville defense.
Related: 4 crucial observations from the Jags' win over the Panthers in Week 1
The Jaguars defense came through vs. Bryce Young and the Panthers
You could make the case that the Panthers are a bad team, so Jacksonville's defensive outing isn't nearly as impressive. But the fact that Carolina isn't good shouldn't take anything away from the Jaguars. Heck, they came through at all three levels.
Josh Hines-Allen led the way with eight pressures, while Arik Armstead recorded two. The defense as a whole had 15 total pressures. Sure, Dawuane Smoot had the only sack from the Jacksonville sideline, but the Carolina offense couldn't find a rhythm at any point of the game. In the secondary, cornerback Jourdan Lewis was a stud, registering 10 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
On top of that, the Jags had three takeaways in the season opener. This is an area in which they struggled last year, so it's great to see them get off to a strong start.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars defense showed up in Week 1 and set the tone for the rest of the season. That they had to face a distracted Bryce Young most certainly helped the cause. Maybe they'll consider showing minigames at EverBank Stadium.