The Carolina Panthers put together their most complete performance of the preseason, rolling past the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-17 at EverBank Stadium in a game that had a little bit of everything for TGOR to break down. Kenny Pickett ran the offense with poise for most of the night, going 15-of-25 for 137 yards and a touchdown, while Bryce Young's brief first-drive cameo (5-of-6, 49 yards, 100.7 rating) included a gorgeous 17-yard connection with Tetairoa McMillan that kept the opening scoring drive alive. Kyle Trask even got in on the fun late, hitting Casey Washington for a touchdown to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
On the ground, it was a true committee effort — Anthony Tyus III, Jonathon Brooks, A.J. Dillon, and Trevor Etienne combined for 97 yards, with Brooks punching in the game's first touchdown on his surgically repaired knee. Jimmy Horn Jr. added a highlight-reel 39-yard run out of the backfield. Through the air, John Metchie III (6 catches, 77 yards) continued to build a case for a real role in this offense, and Roc Taylor's 16-yard touchdown grab on 3rd-and-3 was one of the prettiest throw-and-catch combos of the preseason so far.
Defensively, Chau Smith-Wade's interception and Cam Gill's fumble recovery were both backbreakers for Jacksonville, and Carolina turned both takeaways directly into points. The Panthers were nearly perfect where it counted — 2-for-2 on fourth down, 4-of-5 in the red zone — while the Jaguars settled for field goals from Cam Little (3-for-3) and struggled to find rhythm behind Carter Bradley before Joey Aguilar sparked things off the bench.
In this video, we break down every scoring drive, the full stat line for both teams, the defensive standouts, the longest plays of the night, and what it all means for the Panthers' 53-man roster picture heading toward Week 1. Devin Lloyd sat out his emotional return trip to Jacksonville, and we'll get into why that matters too.
Panthers improve to 2-1 in the preseason. Let's talk about it.
