For all the talk about getting off to a hot start in Week 1, Head coach Dave Canales two attempts can both properly be described as complete failures. Watching the game on Sunday felt like Bill Murray waking up to “I got you babe” in Groundhog Day – that is, it felt like nothing had changed.
While in some cases that is certainly true, in others the team did show some more signs of optimism that certainly weren’t
present after the first 60 minutes of Week 1 in 2024.
Same: Young’s stats
Young’s Week 1 2024: 13/30, 161 passing yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 4 sacks taken – 4 rushes, 12 yards, 1 TD, 0 fumble
Young’s Week 1 2025: 18/35, 154 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 sack taken – 5 rushes, 40 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost
I’m not the first person to notice the similarity that unnerved even the most hardened fan at first glance. If you had to compare the two, the 2025 stat line is marginally better based on a higher completion percentage, an extra 30 rushing yards and 3 less sacks taken.
Thankfully, the actual performances in each game were not quite so similar.
Different: Young’s actual performance
That doesn’t mean that Young’s game against the Jaguars was phenomenal, only that his game versus the New Orleans Saints last season was so beyond terrible that even an below-average to average performance with some redeeming moments would have been several orders of magnitude better. For example, Young had a game offensive grade of 32.6 and passing grade of 34.7, both the worst in the NFL during the first week of 2024. In 2025, Young’s grades of 71.1 and 71.8 in the same categories ranked 19th and 14th respectively.
In 2024, Young’s receivers were not attributed a single drop. In 2025, the receivers had 3 counted drops: Ja’Tavion Sanders with a drop of a 20 yard pass, Chuba Hubbard with a drop in the two minute drill (next play was Young’s fumble) and Dowdle’s drop in the waning moments in the game that ended up being Young’s second interception. This does not include the 30 yard gain left on the table when Xavier Legette could not get his feet down inbounds and Tetairoa McMillan not bringing in a 33 yard touchdown opportunity on a well placed ball from Young. Any one of those go Young’s way and his stats take a considerable bump to match his on-field performance.
Still not a great outing overall, but certainly not one that should have fans calling for his benching again.
Same: Pitiful pass rush
The Panthers managed only a single sack over the course of both Week 1 games. Congrats to current New Orleans Saints practice squad member Eku Leota for holding the honor of best pass rusher, with 1 whole sack, in the Panthers last two Week 1 outings.
The pass rush metrics beyond total sacks aren’t much better, in fact they are probably worse than you thought. The Panthers managed to have 1 extra pressure versus the Jaguars (5 pressures) than against the Saints (4 pressures). However, on the week the Panthers had by far the worst pressure rate in the NFL.
Being 9% worse than the 31st ranked team in the NFL is disastrous, especially for a team that spent big money in free agency to bring in 3 separate starting defensive lineman and traded up twice in the draft to select pass rushers, Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. Those rookie pass rushers combined for 15 pass rush opportunities, with neither having more than 8 attempts. At this point, it might be time to double or even triple their opportunities in this area because it cannot get much worse.
Different: 1st round rookie debuts
In back to back years, the Panthers had a 1st round receiver making their debut as a starter entering Week 1.
Xavier Legette’s Week 1: 4 receptions on 7 targets, 35 yards, 2 first downs
Tetairoa McMillan’s Week 1: 5 receptions on 8 targets, 68 yards, 4 first downs
While they were both 1st round rookies, that’s where the similarities end as far as performances go. Legette was 3rd on the team in yards while McMillan led the team in yards, catches and first downs while locking down PFF’s 9th highest receiving grade for a wide receiver on the week.
In 2024, no receiver on the team seemed to have any chemistry with Young – partly due to his own performance – despite the team having brought in Legette and Diontae Johnson. On Sunday, McMillan showed immediate chemistry with Young and looked to already be established as the team’s go-to receiver deserving of double digit targets per game.
Same: Rush defense
It’s not breaking news that the Panthers rush defense was once again awful. A complete offseason’s worth of investment and the return of pro bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown did not amount to much – at least not in Week 1.
Against the Saints in, the team surrendered 180 yards rushing which bumped all the way up to an even 200 against the Jaguars (3rd most allowed in the NFL). 71 yards of those 200 came on one play, but even 129 yards is still far too many yards to be successful in the area considering it would be the 8th most given up in Week 1.
I have a little more confidence in the 2025 iteration of the team to be able to turn around their season long outlook instead of the repeating poor performances week after week like the 2024 version of the Panthers, if not for any other reason than Derrick Brown’s health.
Whether you consider the Panthers oddly similar Week 1 performance as foreshadowing for another unfortunate season, or just an aberration for a team that just needed to knock the rust off and get their footing, there’s only one way to find out. 16 more games to go.
