Jaguars' Week 1 Opponent Shares Similar QB Pressure

The Jaguars and their Week 1 opponent share a lot more in common than having entered the league as expansion cousins 30 years ago. Plenty of interesting storylines will dominate the week leading up to the Carolina-Jacksonville opener Sept. 7 at EverBank Stadium.

Both franchises hired as head coach a Buccaneers offensive coordinator who worked closely with Baker Mayfield. Dave Canales remained in the NFC South, heading from Tampa Bay to Charlotte in 2024. Liam Coen went from NFC South to AFC South and across the state to Jacksonville in January. Mayfield, meanwhile, had the two best seasons of his career in 2023 and 2024.

And upon their hiring, both head coaches were tasked with resurrecting the careers of former No. 1-overall draft picks. Coen is charged with getting Trevor Lawrence to his full potential, and Canales has a similar assignment with Bryce Young.

Would the Jaguars consider benching Lawrence and starting backup Nick Mullens for a stretch of games, similar to how Canales handled Young’s situation last year? No one can argue with the results of how that worked in Carolina.

“Unbelievably sneaky huge year for the ex-No. 1 pick,” Dan Orlovsky predicted on Monday’s edition of Get Up.

“I fully expect Bryce Young to remind everybody, ‘Hey, I am plenty capable of being a very high-end starter in the NFL.’”

That wasn’t the case two weeks into his 2024 season, when Canales benched Young after a 26-3 home loss to the Chargers, and started veteran Andy Dalton. But six weeks later, Young returned to the lineup and finished the year in strong fashion.

He now carries that momentum, specifically 12 touchdown passes and only three interceptions over his final eight games, into the season-opener with the Jaguars.

And while Travis Hunter figures to take much of the spotlight in his first NFL game, that contest also features the debut of another top-10 draft choice, Carolina’s Tetairoa McMillan. Once considered a potential Jaguars selection, McMillan should provide a stiff test for new Jacksonville defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile in his first NFL game calling a defense.

Both franchises advanced to their respective conference championship games in their second season, 1996, but the Panthers have enjoyed more success over the last three decades. While Carolina is 0-2 in Super Bowls, Jacksonville has yet to appear in one.

Both franchises have eight playoff appearances. The Panthers have played in four conference title games while the Jaguars have advanced to three.

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