Panthers-Jets live updates: Carolina beats the Jets to start season 1-0

Sam Darnold makes his Panthers debut today — well, his debut in a game that counts — when Carolina hosts the New York Jets at 1 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Regardless of whether it was a coincidence the NFL schedule makers put Darnold against his former team in Week 1 or designed for good television, there are plenty of talking points going into this afternoon.

The Observer has seven journalists at the stadium covering the game, including beat reporter Jonathan M. Alexander, columnist Scott Fowler and two photographers. For live updates throughout the day, stay tuned here and refresh this page for the most recent news.

Another Zach Wilson TD in Jets final push

The Jets made two big plays — one a 25-yard completion on 4th and 8, the other a 40 yard completion the next play — to get within striking distance by the game’s two minute warning. And despite a Derrick Brown sack that pushed the Jets to a 2nd and goal from the 20-yard line, Jets quarterback Zach Wilson scored anyway by virtue of a connection with Corey Davis (again) for another touchdown.

Davis shimmied past the Panthers’ 2021 first-round pick, Jaycee Horn, for the score.

A failed two-point conversion cut Carolina’s lead to 19-14 over the Jets. And a failed onside kick attempt gives the Panthers the ball with just under two minutes to play.

A Christian McCaffrey rushing first down put the game away for good. The Panthers are now 1-0.

Santoso nails Carolina FG: 19-8

Ryan Santoso punctuated another promising, balanced Carolina drive with a 29-yard field goal. The kick was a consequential one: It pushed the game to two possessions again.

Darnold and McCaffrey split the offensive playmaking load that possession. The running back notched 22 yards, and the quarterback notched 33 yards.

Zach Wilson delivers Jets some life: Panthers 16, Jets 8

The Jets needed some life toward the end of the third quarter — and they got it.

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, after a first half that saw him struggle against a relentless Panthers defensive line, used his legs to spring out of the pocket and find a wide-open Corey Davis in the back-right corner of the end zone.

The quarterback then took a zone-read option out of the shotgun into the end zone himself for a successful two-point conversion to pull the Jets within one score. The Panthers still lead 16-8.

That punctuated the last full drive of the third quarter: Wilson has now notched 13-of-26 completions for 150 yards, a touchdown and an interception. (He notched 57 of those passing yards on that last drive.)

Slow 3rd quarter works for Panthers

The score hasn’t changed since the halftime break — and neither, really, has the field position battle. Nothing much has changed three possessions for each team into the second half.

After a Panthers punt, the Jets took over at their own 30-yard-line with just over six minutes remaining in the third.

Also, an injury update: Panthers safety Myles Hartsfield has been announced as out for the remainder of Sunday’s contest (wrist).

Sam Darnold TD: Panthers 16, Jets 0. (Halftime)

Apparently, Sam Darnold can do it all. The new Panthers quarterback, who threw a 57-yard touchdown pass the previous drive, just added a rushing touchdown on a five-yard draw.

Darnold was plagued for three years at New York having a poor offensive line. The Panthers’ offensive line was supposed to be a weak point, but the front five has given him plenty of time to throw today and he looks sharp.

Darnold is 17 of 22 passing for 234 yards and a touchdown. The last time he threw for at least this many yards was Week 1 of last season.

Darnold to Anderson TD: Panthers 9, Jets 0

Go figure: After two drives ending painstakingly close to the end zone — one a fumble on a handoff exchange and the other a 22-yard field goal — the Panthers use a big play to find paydirt.

Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold stepped up in the pocket and delivered a beautiful pass to Robby Anderson, who was running a deep post. Anderson trapped the pass to his chest and ran it in for a 57-yard touchdown.

A failed point-after attempt from Ryan Santoso (hooked wide left) delivered the Panthers a 9-0 lead with just over 4 minutes left in the second quarter.

Santoso FG: Panthers 3, Jets 0

The Panthers have their first lead of 2021.

After a Shaq Thompson interception, the Panthers went 29 yards on six plays and punctuated their drive with a 22-yard field goal from newly appointed kicker Ryan Santoso.

Back to back turnovers for Panthers, Jets, including Shaq Thompson INT

Carolina had put together its first promising drive of 2021, methodically working its way to inside the Jets 10-yard-line — when Sam Darnold and Christian McCaffrey had a handoff go awry. The fumble was recovered by the Jets, and a new, rejuvenated New York offense began its first drive of the second quarter.

The ensuing possession, linebacker Shaq Thompson tipped a Zach Wilson pass in the air with his left hand and corralled it with his right for an interception. He returned it to the Jets 32. The Panthers began another drive with good field position.

Panthers 0, Jets 0. End 1st

The first quarter ended with the game still scoreless. Some stat-lines to consider through 15 minutes of game time:

• Running back Christian McCaffrey with three carries for 19 yards and two catches for 20 yards.
• Quarterback Sam Darnold has completed 6-of-8 passes for 37 yards.
• Receiver DJ Moore with three targets and two receptions for eight yards.
• Panthers defensive lineman/linebacker Haasan Reddick, picked up in this offseason’s free agency out of Arizona, led the team in tackles through one quarter with two.

The Panthers are also making Jets quarterback Zach Wilson’s NFL debut difficult: The rookie was 1-for-6 with seven yards and hurried twice and sacked once through one quarter.

Crowd boos Panthers first-quarter fourth-down call

The Panthers’ second drive of 2021 started in Jets territory, but the home team couldn’t turn the favorable field position into points.

Carolina opened the drive with a 13-yard passing connection between Sam Darnold and DJ Moore. But then three straight passing plays — including a third-down pass for one yard when the team needed seven — truncated the drive.

Then, on fourth down from the Jets’ 33, the Panthers elected to punt instead of taking a 50-yard field goal. The play call was met with intermittent boos from the home crowd.

The punt went 18 yards, giving the Jets a new start deep in their own territory with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.

Defensive end Brian Burns stuffs first Jets drive

Brian Burns, a third-year Panther defensive end out of Florida State, went untouched en route to his first sack of the 2021 season. The play effectively stuffed the Jets’ first drive — as well as the first drive of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson’s NFL career — forcing a 3rd and 23 that went unconverted.

The Jets then punted, and the Panthers took over with just over 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.

Panthers defer, Jets receive the opening kickoff

The 2021 NFL season is underway!

What jerseys are the Panthers and Jets wearing?

The Panthers are sporting white-on-white uniforms with silver helmets and blue socks. The Jets are wearing their away greens and white pants.

And what was head coach Matt Rhule wearing as he walked to Bank of America Stadium this morning?

Who’s inactive for the Panthers-Jets game?

Panthers: WR Shi Smith, G Michael Jordan, DE Darryl Johnson, DT Phil Hoskins, G Deonte Brown, LB Clay Johnston.

Jets: RB La’Mical Perine, RB Josh Adams, CB Jason Pinnock, LB Quincy Williams, WR Keelan Cole, DL Jonathan Marshall.

Panthers-Jets injury report

Panthers: WR Shi Smith (shoulder) OUT, RG John Miller (COVID/reserve) OUT.

Jets: S Sharrod Neasmon (hamstring) OUT, WR Keelan Cole (knee) QUESTIONABLE, La’Mical Perine (foot) QUESTIONABLE, Jamison Crowder (COVID/reserve) OUT.

How to watch Jets-Panthers game

Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff between the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is being broadcast on CBS. If you’re watching in Charlotte, that means WBTV Channel 3.

The Panthers-Jets game can be streamed online with a subscription to Paramount+, YouTube TV or Hulu+ Live TV, so long as you are viewing from inside the broadcast footprint — a map of which can be found below via 506 Sports.

This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Panthers-Jets live updates: Carolina beats the Jets to start season 1-0."

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.