The Carolina Panthers will hope to open up there season with a win. The demoralizing loss of Kelvin Benjamin makes us all curious to know just how his production will be replaced.
The Panthers get an easy matchup to begin the season as the Jaguars will be without their best offensive weapon Julius Thomas. Thomas had surgery on his hand and will not be available until week 4.
The Jaguars will struggle against a dominant Carolina defense that should control the line of scrimmage. If Blake Bortles can take the next step this season this will be a good time to see him do it.
Playmakers to look out for:
TJ Yeldon: Yeldon is the starting running back for the Jaguars and he might not have impressed as much as people thought as preseason rolled along however this Jaguars line makes it hard for everyone to run behind them. Yeldon will need to be a playmaker if the Jaguars want to win this game.
Devin Funchess: Funchess was the natural replacement for Benjamin as he was scheduled to line up next to him. The Panthers refuse to start Funchess yet for reasons currently unknown but the Panthers cannot afford to sit a 2nd round pick when their best wide receiver is out for the season.
Cam Newton: Newton will need to play lights out to not get embarrassed by the resurgent Jaguars. Without a main target to pass too besides Greg Olsen the Panthers will struggle however if Newton can find some chemistry with Funchess they could put up some points together.