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As the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers clash in Week 1 of the NFL's regular season, every team's fanbase will be filled with optimism and excitement for their team (well almost all, sorry Texans fans). The Jets have a completely new coaching staff, led by Robert Saleh. Most of the optimism is due to their new quarterback, who was selected number two overall in this past draft, Zach Wilson, and the fact that this new coaching staff is putting a lot of effort into making sure their new quarterback gets the help he needs (something they did not do much of for their previous quarterback). In Charlotte, the excitement is nearly equivalent for Panthers fans as the Panthers ended the Teddy Bridgewater experiment in just one year, after they traded for Sam Darnold. Matt Rhule and his coaching staff now head into their second year after the team exceeded expectations the previous year. Even though the Panthers went 5-11 last year, they did so with such a young and inexperienced roster, which makes fans rightfully excited to see what this team can do now with the gained experience and pieces that were added through the draft and free agency.
Well, by late afternoon this coming Sunday, that optimism and excitement for either the Jets or Panthers fanbase is going to come to a halt, whether it's overreaction or not, it's going to happen. So hopefully after reading this, I tamper down the expectations of one fanbase by previewing what's most likely to occur by looking at the game's key matchups. We will also look at who has the edge in those matchups and what will most likely impact the game's outcome. So here we go...
1.) Quinnen Williams & Sheldon Rankins VS Panthers Interior Linemen
Apart from Taylor Moton, who plays right tackle (and maybe Matt Paradis, center), the rest of the Panthers' offensive line is not up to standard, as simple as that. The Jets will have to force Sam Darnold into making mistakes to have a good chance of winning this game. I'm confident Darnold will make a few of them throughout the day which will be caused by the heavy pressure up the middle from Williams and Rankins. Robert Saleh will know how to exploit the Panthers' offensive weaknesses as best as possible and how to use both of his defensive tackles. Luckily for him, the Panthers weakness happens to be the most important group on the offensive side of the ball (apart from quarterback).
2.) Brian Burns & Hassan Reddick VS Jets Offensive Tackles
Brian Burns is about to reach elite level as a pass rusher this year. He is deadly at the edge and I truly believe he has a shot to win the DPOY award IF the Panthers reach the playoffs. It doesn't matter which team has which player at tackle, it will be tough for anyone to matchup against Brian Burns. Unlucky for the Jets that they have to go up against him in the first week, and I haven't even gotten to the other edge defender yet. Hassan Reddick was drafted by the Cardinals in 2017 and was considered a disappointment during his first three years, recording only 7.5 sacks during that span, mostly due to him being played out of position. In his final year with the Cardinals, he was moved back to his natural edge position and thrived as he recorded 12.5 sacks. In this past free agency, he reunited with Matt Rhule and Phil Snow, who coached him at Temple and developed him into a first-round pick for the Panthers. If anyone knows how to use Hassan Reddick, it's this coaching staff, especially when he's paired with Brian Burns. This is a duo that will cause huge problems for the Jets, who will most likely experience mistakes made by inexperienced Zach Wilson as he makes his first career start and will face a lot of pressure coming from the edges.
3.) Corey Davis VS Jaycee Horn
Jamison Crowder's availability for Sunday is doubtful, leaving Corey Davis as the only proven veteran wide receiver for the Jets. Davis will most likely be guarded by this year's first-round pick, Jaycee Horn. Zach Wilson and Corey Davis have already shown signs of good chemistry between them during the pre-season, but Jaycee Horn has also shown signs of being able to lockdown opposing receivers for the Panthers. This is a matchup that truly could go either way. Whoever wins this matchup will increase their team's chances of winning by a huge amount.
4.) Christian McCaffrey VS Tevin Coleman
I'm putting Tevin Coleman here but the Jets might go with the RB by committee route along with Michael Carter and Ty Johnson. Now, I know this isn't exactly a matchup since running backs can't face other running backs, but the game most likely will come down to which group of running backs has the better day by the end of the game. I mentioned earlier that the offensive lines for each team will face a difficult matchup when it comes to the passing game, as both quarterbacks will be facing constant pressure throughout most of the game. If both quarterbacks are struggling to do much, both the Panthers and Jets might turn to the running game. Whoever runs the ball better will open up opportunities for play action and force the opposing defense into biting at the run and making a mistake. If it comes down to the running game, it's hard not to give the Panthers the edge in this matchup, as they arguably have the best running back in the NFL, with Christian McCaffrey and now Chuba Hubbard, who performed well during the pre-season.
5.) Ryan Santoso VS Matt Ammendola
Ah yes, kickers. Both the Panthers and the Jets have struggled to find their next great kicker, but these are now the guys who'll get their chance to try and prove that their team's search is over. Neither one has attempted a field goal during an NFL regular season, so this combined experience between them is as low as you can come up with. Points are hard to come by in the NFL, so missing a field goal or even just a single extra point can be the difference between winning and losing, especially in this game that could turn out to be heavily defensive sided for both teams. I believe there will be multiple kick attempts between these two kickers and there will be only one miss. Whoever it is that misses that one kick, will lose their team the game.
New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers final prediction
Before I go ahead with my prediction I just want to say...don't overreact by the performance or outcome of this game (I shouldn't have even bothered saying that since it's going to happen). It will only be the first week of the season, with the Panthers and Jets having made the right decisions to head in the right direction. Now, with that out of the way...
I expect this to be a mistake-filled game on the offensive side for both teams. As mentioned, pressure and experience issues will trouble the quarterbacks and both teams will most likely turn to the running game. Full fan attendance is also back now, which will be an advantage for the Panthers. Even though there will be a lot of mistakes, I still believe both teams will show signs of promise in a hard low scoring battle.
Jets - 14
Panthers - 17
