Bryce Young had much more success in his second game of the preseason, going 5 of 6 for 49 yards passing and setting up a touchdown in the Carolina Panthers' 34-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday night.
The game was suspended because of lightning in the area with 2 minutes left on the clock, but both coaches agreed to end it instead of waiting the mandatory 30 minutes before resuming play.
It was essentially over long before then.
Young
directed a 58-yard scoring drive on the team’s second possession, picking up five first downs — five more than he had in three series at Buffalo last week. Jonathon Brooks capped the drive with 1-yard touchdown run.
It was a clear step forward for Young and Carolina’s first-team offense, which were no-shows against the Bills. The Panthers (2-1) managed 11 yards in three drives in Buffalo, with Young misfiring twice and getting sacked on three third-down plays.
Scoring against the Jaguars (1-1) should give third-year head coach Dave Canales enough confidence to sit Young and other starters next week in the team’s preseason finale against Houston.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, held out all their starters for the second straight week and have no plans to play quarterback Trevor Lawrence, two-way star Travis Hunter or any other first-teamers in their final exhibition next week against Tampa Bay.
This one was messy for Jacksonville, which was penalized nine times in the first half to go along with a turnover.
“Just have to keep building,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said.
Running back Ameer Abdullah, a 12-year NFL veteran vying for a roster spot, improved his chances with 82 total yards.
Abdullah ran six times for 45 yards, including a 23-yard spurt in which he juked cornerback Chau Smith-Wade in the flat, and added three receptions for 37 yards.
Abdullah is competing with DeeJay Dallas and rookie J’Mari Taylor for the fourth running back spot. Dallas fumbled in the third quarter Friday. He finished with 27 yards rushing and added a 2-point conversion.
Defensive end Derrick Brown, cornerback Jaycee Horn, running back Chuba Hubbard, receiver Xavier Legette and linebacker Devin Lloyd were among the dozen players the Panthers held out for various reasons. All of them are projected starters.
Cornerback Akayleb Evans, defensive tackle Cam Jackson, quarterback Haynes King, cornerback Will Lee, receiver Ja’seem Reed and tight end Darren Waller also sat out the game.
Jaguars backup Nick Mullens, who was 3 of 7 with an interception last week at New Orleans, turned in a better performance against Carolina.
Mullens was 6 of 7 for 65 yards and directed a 71-yard drive that led to a field goal. His outing should alleviate some concerns about Lawrence’s backup.
Signed earlier this month, Panthers receiver Roc Taylor had the catch of the game – and one of the best of the preseason. Taylor hauled in a 16-yard TD strike from Kenny Pickett late in the third quarter. Taylor was fully turned and had a defender in his face when he caught the pass.
Taylor, who played college ball at Memphis and spent training camp with Pittsburgh last year, celebrated with a giddy-up-horsey routine in the back of the end zone.
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