Panthers Beat Jaguars 34-17 in NFL Preseason Week 2 as Bryce Young and Starting Offense Bounce Back

On Friday, August 21, 2026, the Carolina Panthers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-17 at EverBank Stadium in NFL Preseason Week 2, a road win that gave quarterback Bryce Young and the starting offense a much-needed rebound after a sluggish exhibition debut at Buffalo. Young went 5-for-6 for 49 yards, directed a 58-yard scoring drive capped by Jonathon Brooks’ 1-yard touchdown run, and helped Carolina build a 20-6 halftime lead before backups extended the margin in the second half.

Kickoff was 7:30 p.m. ET. The Panthers improved to 2-1 in exhibition play after losing 29-14 to the Bills on August 15, when Young managed just 18 yards on three three-and-out series. The Jaguars fell to 1-1 at home and rested most of their projected starters, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence, despite head coach Liam Coen saying earlier in the week that first-team players might see action.

Editor’s note: This article draws on game data and reporting from AP News, ESPN, TSN, Panthers.com, and Jaguars.com, August 19–21, 2026.

Game at a glance

Detail	Information
Date	Friday, August 21, 2026
Venue	EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.
Week	NFL Preseason Week 2
Kickoff	7:30 p.m. ET
Final score	Panthers 34, Jaguars 17
Quarter lines	CAR 7-13-7-7, JAX 3-3-0-11

How the scoring unfolded

Jacksonville opened with a long field-goal drive. Cam Little connected from 34 yards with 29 seconds left in the first quarter to cut Carolina’s early lead to 7-3 after the Panthers had struck first.

Carolina’s opening touchdown came on the team’s second possession. Young directed a 58-yard march in 10 plays over 3:29, picking up five first downs — matching the total he managed across three series at Buffalo. Tetairoa McMillan nearly finished the drive with a touchdown catch but was stopped at the 1-yard line; Brooks punched it in from there at 7:34 of the first quarter, and Ryan Fitzgerald added the extra point.

The Panthers pulled away in the second quarter. Fitzgerald hit a 48-yard field goal at 5:26, and AJ Dillon scored on a 7-yard run at 2:07 to make it 17-3. Little answered with another 34-yard field goal at 0:21, but Fitzgerald closed the half with a 61-yard kick as time expired for a 20-6 Carolina advantage.

After the break, Kenny Pickett found Roc Taylor for a 16-yard touchdown at 1:25 of the third quarter. Kyle Trask added a 15-yard scoring pass to Casey Washington in the fourth quarter before Jacksonville’s reserves scored late on a 29-yard connection from Joey Aguilar to Trebor Pena, followed by a DeeJay Dallas two-point conversion run that settled the final margin at 34-17.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Play	Score
1st	Jonathon Brooks 1-yard rush (CAR)	CAR 7, JAX 0
1st	Cam Little 34-yard field goal (JAX)	CAR 7, JAX 3
2nd	Ryan Fitzgerald 48-yard field goal (CAR)	CAR 10, JAX 3
2nd	AJ Dillon 7-yard rush (CAR)	CAR 17, JAX 3
2nd	Cam Little 34-yard field goal (JAX)	CAR 17, JAX 6
2nd	Ryan Fitzgerald 61-yard field goal (CAR)	CAR 20, JAX 6
3rd	Roc Taylor 16-yard pass from Kenny Pickett (CAR)	CAR 27, JAX 6
4th	Cam Little 43-yard field goal (JAX)	CAR 27, JAX 9
4th	Casey Washington 15-yard pass from Kyle Trask (CAR)	CAR 34, JAX 9
4th	Trebor Pena 29-yard pass from Joey Aguilar (JAX)	CAR 34, JAX 17

Bryce Young’s bounce-back night

Young’s Week 1 outing at Highmark Stadium was a frustration for Dave Canales and Panthers fans. Carolina went three-and-out on all three of Young’s series, finishing 3-of-5 for 18 yards while playing behind a depleted offensive line that was missing projected starters Ickey Ekwonu and Taylor Moton and both starting guards.

Friday in Jacksonville looked different from the opening snap. Jacksonville linebacker Branson Combs blitzed Young into a third-down incompletion on Carolina’s first possession, forcing a punt — but the second drive told the story Canales wanted to see. Young stayed composed under pressure, connected with Adam Coker and McMillan, and moved the chains repeatedly. Brooks finished what Young started with the short touchdown run.

Young threw only six passes on the night, completing five without a turnover. The limited volume was by design in a preseason road game where Canales wanted efficient execution rather than extended reps. Per AP News and TSN, the performance was enough for Canales to consider resting Young and other starters in the preseason finale against Houston.

Panthers depth shines behind the starters

While Young’s series drew the headlines, Carolina’s backups extended a comfortable lead and avoided the catastrophic mistakes that can derail exhibition evaluations.

Kenny Pickett, Young’s primary backup, directed the third-quarter touchdown drive to Taylor. Kyle Trask closed the scoring with his connection to Washington. AJ Dillon added a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and Fitzgerald’s 61-yard field goal before halftime underscored special-teams reliability.

None of Carolina’s three quarterbacks turned the ball over, a sharp contrast to the turnover-prone outings that sometimes define late-preseason depth-chart auditions. Sports Illustrated graded Young’s night an A and noted that all three signal-callers put productive plays on film.

Jaguars rest starters; reserves get extended run

Coen had opened the week suggesting starters could play against a Panthers team Carolina had faced in a joint practice on Wednesday, August 19. Lawrence praised the Jaguars’ run game after that session, telling reporters the joint work was “really productive.”

Friday’s game plan went the other direction. Lawrence and a long list of projected starters — including Travis Hunter, Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, and most of the offensive line — did not dress, per Jaguars.com. The approach mirrored Week 1, when Jacksonville treated its opener against New Orleans as a depth-building exercise.

Reserve quarterback Joey Aguilar provided the Jaguars’ brightest offensive moment with the late touchdown to Pena. Ameer Abdullah, a 12th-year veteran signed in the offseason, rushed for 45 yards on six carries in the first half. Rookie defensive end Bryan Thomas Jr. forced a holding penalty with a strong pass rush in the second quarter.

The loss does not change Jacksonville’s regular-season outlook, but it offered limited insight into how Lawrence and the first-team offense will look when the games count. Coen’s staff used the night to evaluate backups and young players in a game environment — not to test starters against a Panthers defense that had already seen Jacksonville’s schemes in joint practice two days earlier.

Context and what comes next

Preseason results do not carry into September, but Carolina left Jacksonville with a clearer picture than it had after Buffalo.

For the Panthers, Young’s efficient second drive and the offense’s 20-point first-half output answered questions raised in Orchard Park. McMillan’s near-touchdown and chemistry with Young matter for a passing game built around the second-year receiver. Canales can now turn toward Preseason Week 3 against Houston with confidence that his starter looked sharp in limited action — and with backup quarterbacks who avoided turnovers.

For the Jaguars, the 34-17 scoreline is less important than the development reps given to Aguilar, Abdullah, and Thomas. Lawrence’s absence kept the focus on depth, consistent with Coen’s preseason philosophy so far. Jacksonville hosts its next exhibition action before roster cuts accelerate at the end of August.

Carolina’s road win also capped a week that began with joint practices in Jacksonville and ended with the starting offense looking like a different unit than the one that stalled in Buffalo. Whether that translates to Week 1 of the regular season remains an open question — but Friday night was the rebound Canales needed to see.

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Discussion

Friday at EverBank Stadium was about a Panthers offense that looked nothing like its Buffalo outing — and a Jaguars night built around reserves.

1. Young went 5-for-6 and led a 58-yard scoring drive after three-and-out series at Buffalo. Does one clean road performance settle any lingering doubts about Carolina’s starting offense — or was Jacksonville’s starter-heavy absence too big a caveat to read much into it?

Canales may sit Young next week; this might be the last extended look at the first team before September.

2. Pickett and Trask both threw touchdowns without turnovers while Lawrence and most Jaguars starters watched from the sideline. For two teams heading into a preseason finale and roster cuts, which depth-chart battle — Carolina’s backup QBs or Jacksonville’s reserves behind Lawrence — told you more about September readiness?

Share whether Young’s bounce-back or the Jaguars’ decision to rest starters shaped how you view either team’s 2026 outlook.

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