Lea: Quick Panthers reactions vs NY Jets

By Chris Lea, WRAL-TV sports anchor/reporter

The Carolina Panthers began their 2021 season against the first team the franchise ever got a win against, the New York Jets. That's a cool piece of info, but the main story line for this game is quarterback Sam Darnold playing the Jets - the team that drafted him back in 2018 - in his first game not in a Jets uniform. The Panthers begin their season with a 19-14 win and going 1-0 for the first time in three seasons. Here are my quick reactions after the game:

• Sam Darnold - Darnold didn't give the Jets any bulletin board material in the weeks leading up to this game. He's known for quite some time his first chance outside of a Jets uniform would be against the Jets. Yet, he played it cool like it was 'just another game.' That's fine, Sam. We know the truth. After a slow start for the Panthers offense, Darnold started to get it going, connecting with his former Jets teammate Robby Anderson on a 57 yard bomb to the end zone. Then, Darnold smoothly ran the two-minute offense for the Panthers towards the end of the first half and capped the drive off by taking it himself for the 5 yard touchdown run. We know deep down inside, it had to feel amazing to stick it to his old team. But the second half started off rough for Darnold and the Panthers with three straight punts, with the Jets defense getting five QB hits in those three possessions. But ultimately, Darnold got the win over his old team and looked smooth doing so, finishing 24-35 for 279 yards and a 102.0 passer rating. It's too early to tell if he'll be better than Teddy Bridgewater from last season, but Darnold looks to be a bit of an upgrade after one game - but not a huge upgrade. I'm sure Darnold didn't envy his Jets replacement Zach Wilson after watching the rookie get sacked six times and get hit 10 times. Darnold was sacked once himself and was hit eight times, something that the Panthers offensive line would like to clean up before next week.

• Christian McCaffrey - After not missing a game due to injury in his entire life, Christian McCaffrey missed 13 of them last season. Some fans have wondered how the Panthers would use CMC and if they'd back off of using him so much. Well that question was answered quickly as 22 had 16 of the Panthers 32 touches in the first half. McCaffrey finished with 21 carries for 98 yards and nine catches for 89 yards. He's still a work horse for the Carolina Panthers, but ideally you would want more production coming from others to save him for the long 17-game season. All-in-all, it was great to see CMC look like his old self. Another McCaffrey note: the last time he played in a home win was back on November 3rd, 2019, 680 days ago. That streak was snapped today. Good for him.

• Panthers Defense - Getting off the field on 3rd down was the biggest problem for the Panthers defense last season - they just couldn't do it. The Jets had possession of the ball first and converted on a 3rd and 1. But after that, a short gain and a Brian Burns sack led to 3rd and long for the Jets and the Defense delivered. The Panthers defense held the Jets to 4-13 on third down, which is much better than most games from last season. After a career high of 12.5 sacks last season with the Arizona Cardinals, Hassan Reddick didn't get the free agent market he expected, but picked things up where he left off with his new team, the Panthers, with a strip sack on Zach Wilson. Marquis Haynes got in on the sack action with one of his own in the first half, with the Panthers totaling six sacks in the game. Overall, it was an impressive game for the defense who's showing improvement on stopping the run (only allowing 45 rushing yards for the Jets), rushing the quarterback and getting off the field on third down.

• The Kicking Game - The Panthers kicking game obviously still isn't fixed. Matt Rhule canned Joey Slye for Ryan Santoso, yet didn't allow Santoso to attempt a 50 yard field goal in the first quarter, electing to punt the ball instead. Very interesting choice, which means to me, maybe the Panthers aren't done 'fiddling' around at the Kicker position. You'd like to have someone you have faith in from 50 yards out to give yourself the best chance to win going forward this season. To make matters even worse, Santoso missed the extra point attempt after a 57 yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Robby Anderson. Santoso's time in Charlotte may be ticking, however Santoso was 2-2 kicking 29 and 22 yard field goals. Rhule not allowing him to attempt a 50 yarder and missing an extra point doesn't bode well for the new Carolina Kicker though.