Who will win Carolina Panthers vs. Jaguars? Experts predict Week 1
When the Carolina Panthers take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville at 1 p.m. Sunday, they’ll undeniably have a lot of unknowns.
They’ll have hope, though, too.
The NFL franchise in Charlotte is indeed coming off its seventh consecutive losing season after a 5-12 year in 2024. The Panthers allowed the most points in NFL history and the third-most rushing yards in league history, and on the whole they struggled to find consistency at most game-changing positions.
And yet, in 2025, still undefeated — they’ll have everything still in front of them.
They’ll have hope in Bryce Young, the third-year quarterback who concluded the 2025 season red-hot. Hope in Dave Canales, the second-year head coach whose optimism-springs-eternal approach has this team feeling connected. Hope in a newly recharged defensive line, in a young receiving corps, in an offensive line that might be battling injury but is still considered on paper one of the most stable units in the NFL.
The question … will that hope translate to a Week 1 win?
Observer reporters Mike Kaye and Alex Zietlow teamed up with Observer columnist Scott Fowler to deliver you our predictions on the Week 1 contest between the Jaguars and the Panthers. Check those predictions — and how to watch the game — below.
How to watch Carolina Panthers-Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1
Fans can catch the contest on FOX, with Chris Myers as the play-by-play announcer, Mark Schlereth as the analyst and Jen Hale as the sideline reporter.
For those listening on the radio, you can catch the game on WRFX The Fox — with Anish Shroff, Jake Delhomme, Luke Kuechly and Sharon Thorsland — and on Spanish radio at 97.3 FM / 1060 AM with Jaime Moreno and Antonio Ramos. Check out local listings on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Panthers and Jaguars announce their inactives
The Panthers and the Jaguars have announced who will be inactive on Sunday. The big news for the Panthers is that Ickey Ekwonu, the team’s starting left tackle who had an appendectomy two weeks ago, will not play. Yosh Nijman will start in his stead. The rest of the offensive line is intact — despite guards Robert Hunt (foot) and Damien Lewis (shoulder) showing up on the injury report earlier this week.
Jimmy Horn Jr. is a healthy scratch.
Panthers inactives:
- WR Jimmy Horn Jr.
- LT Ikem Ekwonu
- WR Dalevon Campbell
- TE James Mitchell
- DT Cam Jackson
Jaguars inactives:
- DE Danny Striggow
- DE B.J. Green Jr.
- DT Maason Smith
- OL Cole Van Lanen
- OL Wyatt Milum
- CB Montaric Brown
Observer writers predict Carolina Panthers season opener
Fowler and Zietlow split last year’s predictor title, which was pretty incredible considering how topsy-turvy last year was and how differently their predictions went week to week. We’ll keep one another accountable again this year in our weekly predictions. For now, though, we’re all on even ground at 0-0.
Here’s who we got in Week 1.
Scott Fowler: Jaguars 27, Panthers 20. I think it will be close, but ultimately a Carolina loss. One thing I’ve learned in covering the Panthers for three decades is that you need to make them actually demonstrate they’re a good team before you start becoming a believer. There’s less heartbreak that way. The Panthers have had seven straight losing seasons and went 0-3 in the preseason, so I need them to show me something first (like they did when they opened with the Jaguars in 2003 and 2015, their two Super Bowl seasons). Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence is playing at home. I believe he’s going to slightly outperform Bryce Young.
Mike Kaye: Panthers 24, Jaguars 23. Originally, on the Processing Blue podcast, I predicted a 23-21 win for the Panthers. This was before we found out that Robert Hunt (foot) was banged up and Ickey Ekwonu (appendectomy) was almost assuredly not going to participate. Still, there’s just something about this game that has me thinking Carolina will come out on top in a scrappy win. The Jaguars’ defense isn’t particularly good, and Carolina’s defense shouldn’t be as heinous as it was last year (right?!??). The Panthers desperately need to win one of their first two games, and I think this is the one that they squeak out in a road upset.
Alex Zietlow: Panthers 35, Jaguars 28. No Week 1 game is a must-win. I felt silly even typing that sentence. Still, it’s tough to understate the consequences of this one. The Panthers’ easiest part of the schedule is through their first four contests — they really need to be 2-2 or 3-1 through them to have a shot at a winning season — and that all starts in Jacksonville, against a newly hired head coach and a quarterback coming off an injury-riddled season. Yes, this Jaguars pass rush is formidable; Josh Hines-Allen is no joke. And yes, Travis Hunter’s two-way potential borders on the unbelievable. But if Bryce Young is the creative juggernaut we saw at the end of last year — and who his teammates say he still is — and the defense is slightly improved, this should be a Carolina win.
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
