Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) reacts to collecting an interception as linebacker Thomas Incoom (48) cheers on during the third quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Panthers 26-10. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Panthers CB Jaycee Horn had Jaguars WRs in jail in Week 1

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 8:39 AM ET

You might not have heard much about Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn on Sunday. He made a genuinely stunning interception with one hand and made one key tackle near the line of scrimmage in the run game. Otherwise, announcers didn't have to say his name a whole lot.

That implies that he wasn't all that active in the game. We didn't hear Nick Scott's name much despite him being on the field, and because Princely Umanmielen wasn't on the field, the announcers didn't talk about him.

But Horn didn't have that issue. He wasn't quiet on Sunday other than that pick. He was actually on another planet, keeping Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers from having any semblance of success through the air in Week 1.

Jaycee Horn cut up from week 1 only 11 yards allowed #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/8hgcly8fbj
— The Real Ball Watcher (@thaprotest4) September 9, 2025

Of course, the Jaguars ran for 200 yards, so they didn't need to throw it much, but when they did, Horn was genuinely locking everyone up. Brian Thomas Jr. had one catch all day. Travis Hunter had only a few short catches. When Horn was in coverage, players had virtually no success.

Horn's interception also saved a touchdown. He lurked perfectly on Trevor Lawrence's deep shot to Hunter. Had the ball gone over Horn's hand, Hunter would've had momentum moving forward and probably would've beat the safety over the top and scored his first career NFL touchdown.

But all day, Lawrence couldn't really target Horn because he had the receivers on lockdown. His area of the field was generally off-limits. After getting a $100 million, record-setting payday, questions about whether Horn was actually that good mounted.

After one game, it looks like Horn really earned his money. Thomas Jr., Hunter, and Dyami Brown form a dynamic trio of wide receivers, possessing talent so few teams can match in the WR department. Yet, Horn had little trouble keeping them from getting much going.

It's only one week, but it was against a pretty talented offense with a gifted play-caller taking over, and Liam Coen had no answers for Horn in the passing game. That's at least one good thing to come out of an otherwise disastrous outing.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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