The Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Jets by five, 19-14 on Sunday, giving them their first opening day victory in three seasons. QB Sam Darnold threw for 279 yards, one passing touchdown and had a rushing touchdown as well against his former team.
Carolina’s defense got pressure on Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson. The Panthers defense sacked the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft six times and picked him off once.
Wilson did not give up and kept his team in the football game. He finished 20 of 37 for 258 yards and two touchdown passes to wide receiver Corey Davis in his first NFL career start.
Midway through the second quarter, with the score tied 0-0, Darnold made an impressive throw to his number one wide receiver D.J. Moore for an acrobatic sideline catch. But Darnold had a fumble in the red zone while attempting to hand the ball off to running back Christian McCaffrey. Fortunately, for Darnold, the mistake did not come back to bite him.
Wilson made the first big mistake of his young career. He threw an interception that was deflected and caught by linebacker Shaq Thompson. The Panthers were able to take advantage of Wilson’s mistake by advancing down the field and getting three points, breaking the scoring drought with a short field goal by kicker Ryan Santoso.
Darnold and fellow ex-Jet Robby Anderson connected on a 57-yard bomb into the end zone. Darnold also was able to use a healthy McCaffrey early and often, who had 187 all-purpose yards on 30 touches. McCaffrey missed the majority of last season with several different injuries.
Wilson’s final sack occurred with two minutes left in the fourth quarter with his head hitting the ground with force after getting landed on by 320-pound defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Wilson stayed in the game and showed his mental toughness and connected with Davis for a touchdown with 1:56 left in the game. That trimmed Carolina’s lead down to five, 19-14 and gave the Jets a chance in the final moments. The Panthers salted the game away with an 18-yard run by McCaffrey.
Despite some rough patches, Wilson played well for the most part, including the late touchdown toss and 22-yard touchdown pass to Davis in the third quarter when he rolled out of the pocket to extend the play.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule believes there is obviously room for more improvement, as Darnold could’ve been better on some of his misses. Overall, however, he was pleased with the start.
“It was a good first step. Good first game. I think for him, this was probably a real step forward,” Rhule later added of Darnold’s demeanor. “He was in the moment the whole game. I didn’t have a lot of concerns. I was just anxious to see how he’d be in terms of playing the Jets in that moment. And he looked like he had fun the whole day.”
Injury Update:
Jets: Starting LT Mekhi Becton left in the second half with a knee injury and did not return. Saleh said Becton was still being evaluated and had no word on the extent of the injury. … P Braden Mann (left knee) left in the first half after a teammate grabbed a Carolina player and fell into him. K Matt Ammendola took over punting duties and did well, including a booming 65-yard punt. … Rookie LB Jamien Sherwood (ankle) and S Lamarcus Joyner (elbow) left in the first half and did not return.
Panthers: CB Myles Hartsfield left with a wrist injury and did not return.
Up Next:
The Panthers host the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.
