With so many divisional matchups this week, it feels good to talk about an inter-conference game. The Panthers will head to Jacksonville to open their season, set to face off with Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. Let’s jump right into this Sunday’s game.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: EverBank Stadium; Jacksonville, Florida
- Date: Sunday, September 7th, 2025
- Kickoff: 1:00 PM EST
Quarterback Matchup
- Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young (4-10; 2024 – 171.6 YPG | 15 TD | 9 INT)
- Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence (2-8; 2024 – 204.5 YPG | 11 TD | 7 INT)
Betting Odds
Odds via BetOnline, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Reloaded or Refurbished?
Entering the 2025 season, the Jaguars look great; on paper. They traded for the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft, trading up to snag Travis Hunter. The Jaguars have made it abundantly clear, Hunter will play both wide receiver and cornerback. While he won’t be the first player to take snaps at both wideout and corner in the same game, he might be the first to do it consistently and for extended reps.
Elsewhere on this Jaguars team, we’ve got Brian Thomas Jr. in his second year in the league. Last year he showed elite levels of talent, tallying 1,282 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns and 87 receptions. He did all of this playing just 10 games with Trevor Lawrence and then 10 games with Mac Jones under center.
Maybe he is Good?
As we start another season, we get another year to evaluate Bryce Young. He’s had two back to back terrible years to start his career, averaging 176.0 pass yards per game, with 26 total touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He’s lost 24 of his first 30 starts and that’s not all on him, but he really hasn’t helped. So why is Bryce still starting?
The Panthers won just four games last year with Young under center, three of those coming over the last eight weeks of the season. In those eight games, Young was averaging 213.6 pass yards per game, threw 12 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Half of Young’s career wins came during the last eight weeks of last season, you might as well give him another crack at it.
Sunday’s Best Bets
Chubba Hubbard o9.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
Last year Chubba Hubbard finished third on this team in receptions, lead the team in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns. Hubbard enters his fifth year in the league fresh off his first ever 1,000 yard season, first ever 10+ touchdown season and 40+ reception season. He’s steadily improved every single year and now with Bryce Young finally figuring it out, I expect Chubba to greatly benefit.
Last year, Hubbard finished with four or more receptions in 9 of his 15 games, but averaged just 3.9 yards per catch. The Panthers offense was ranked in the bottom five last year and their wide receiver room has only gotten thinner. Carolina will be starting rookie Tetairoa McMillan as their WR1 come Sunday and 2nd year wideout Xavier Legette in the WR2 spot. The Panthers enter this game as a 3.5-point dog, on the road and could be playing a big portion of this game from behind.
With the lack of options on the outside and an offensive line that could potentially be missing three starters, it feels like the perfect time for Bryce Young to once again lean on his running back.
Brian Thomas Jr. o76.5 Receiving Yards (+100)
We’ve already discussed another elite LSU wide receiver this week, so let’s talk about his former teammate; Brian Thomas Jr. Thomas Jr. recorded 1200+ yards last year, 10 touchdowns and cleared this line in six of his last seven games last year. Over the final five weeks of last season, Thomas Jr. recorded 7+ receptions in every game and 90+ yards in four of the five games.
He’s clearly the team’s best wide receiver and now with Trevor Lawrence back, we may see his game elevate to another level. Half of his games last year came with Mac Jones and all of those games at the end of the year. The team began to lean on him heavily late in the year and it really paid off for this offense. With Liam Cohen now at the helm of this Jags team, look for him to try and utilize Thomas Jr. in the same way he used Mike Evans last year.
Cohen was the co-ordinator behind the 4th best offense in football last year and the offensive mind behind Baker Mayfield’s best season yet. Cohen wasn’t hired by accident, they want him to replicate what he did in Tampa here in Jacksonville; and that’s why I’m loving Brian Thomas Jr. everything this year.
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