JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars started the season off strong, opening the Liam Coen era with a 26-10 win against the Carolina Panthers. Penalties aside, the offense looked much improved and the defense was stout for much of the game. Let’s look at some statistical takeaways from the Jaguars’ week one victory.
Offense
The biggest winner from opening day might be Travis Etienne. Etienne scampered for 143 yards on just 16 carries, averaging almost nine yards a clip. He also had four runs of 10 or more yards, including his impressive 71-yard rush.
The Jaguars failed to get Brian Thomas Jr very involved, aside from his rushing touchdown.
Thomas caught just one of his seven targets for 11 yards. Luckily, the rest of the Jaguars receivers picked up the slack as Travis Hunter, Brenton Strange, and Dyami Brown combined for 13 catches and 144 yards.
Penalties aside, the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line performed admirably. The unit allowed ZERO sacks, allowed the lowest pressure rate (18.2%) of any team (Monday Night excluded), and helped the Jaguars rush for 200 yards.
The Jaguars’ 2.38 yards before contact is truly a sight to behold, ranking 4th among the 30 teams who have played. That’s much improved from 2024’s 32nd ranked offensive line. Coen might just be a wizard in the run-game.
Defense
While the Panthers offense might not be the best, the Jaguars defense handled business nevertheless Sunday afternoon. The unit forced two interceptions, forced a fumble, and caused two Carolina turnovers on downs. That isn’t even mentioning Andrew Wingard’s pick-six, which was called back.
The Jaguars defense forced a total of eight turnovers in 2024. Anthony Campanile’s group is already well on their way to passing that with a total of three just in week one. As I wrote recently, winning the turnover battle is essential to winning football games in the NFL.
While the Jaguars’ pass-rush might have only gotten home once (Smoot), the pressure was very much there for Panthers’ QB Bryce Young. According to NextGenStats, Josh Hines-Allen tallied eight pressures against the Panthers, T-3rd in the NFL. Walker posted four pressures as well en route to a total team pressure rate of 40%, ninth most of the 30 qualifying teams.
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