Coming off of a surprisingly strong offensive effort against the Packers, the 2-13 Panthers will look to take down an injury-riddled 8-7 Jaguars team. The most prominent of these week 17 injuries for Jacksonville comes in the form of a shoulder injury for Trevor Lawrence. Now, instead of a battle of the two most recent quarterbacks to go first overall in the draft, it’ll be Bryce Young facing CJ Beathard. This penultimate game is a great opportunity for a team that has started to show signs of promise, as they hope to pull off an upset against a playoff bubble team.
It’s been a struggle for the Panthers offense to find any semblance of rhythm this year, but they showed signs of life in a narrow week 16 loss. Young led back-to-back scoring drives in order to tie the game, before the Packers scored a go-ahead field goal. Carolina then found themselves down 33-30 with just seconds remaining, but Young completed two more impressive passes. Unfortunately, the game clock ran out a mere half-second before the Panthers could spike the ball in field goal range.
Despite the loss, most would agree that this was Young’s best performance of the season. He went 23/35, racking up 312 yards and two touchdowns. Young looked poised throughout the entire comeback, as the team nearly scored their third win of the year. While the results clearly haven’t been there, these signs of promise are exactly what fans want to see out of their franchise quarterback.
It’s been a rough stretch recently for the Jaguars, as they’ve lost their grip on the division, partially due to injuries. Lawrence was questionable for last week’s game, but managed to start before suffering another injury. This time he’ll be sidelined, missing a game for the first time since high school.
This means the opposing quarterback will be CJ Beathard, who relieved Lawrence in last week’s game. He performed well in a game that was already out of reach, but boasts an unimpressive 2-10 record as a starter over the course of his career.
He’ll also be shorthanded at receiver, as Christian Kirk is set to miss the game after an injury suffered a few weeks back. Zay Jones is also questionable with a knee injury. This worsened situation for the Jaguars bodes well for a Panthers team that seems to slowly be putting together the pieces to their puzzle.
It’s become apparent that this team plays best when they allow Young to operate freely. They’ve trusted him with more opportunities to look downfield recently, and he’s performed well. The receivers have improved, with DJ Chark posting two touchdowns last week in his best game of the season. With what should be a heightened level of confidence, Young will look to continue his hot streak.
Contrary to the majority of the season, the Carolina defense was the main problem last week. 33 points was the most they’ve allowed in the last five weeks, as it offset their best offensive performance of the season. If they can settle back in, they should be able to take advantage of an altered Jacksonville offense.
Stopping the run game will be the top priority, as the Jaguars will lean on Travis Etienne in the absence of their star quarterback. If they slow him down, it’ll force more passing attempts from an unproven quarterback. This gives Carolina the chance to create takeaways, putting Young and company back on the field.
The door is slowly closing on a completely forgettable season in Carolina, but the Panthers have two more opportunities to make progress. If Young shows more of what he did last week, the fan base should have a renewed sense of faith heading into the offseason. Things are far from ideal, but they might have their face of the franchise after all.
Wins over the Jaguars and Buccaneers in the final two weeks could also move the Panthers out of dead last in the NFL. Hurting the Bears draft position is only a moral victory, but it’d be nice to know that Carolina didn’t send away the #1 overall pick. Regardless, in just two weeks the focus will shift to building a competitive team, and finding someone to lead them. This is as crucial of an offseason as any, as the franchise can’t afford to repeat some of their recent mistakes.
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Featured image courtesy of the Carolina Panthers.
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