Brandon McManus kicked four field goals and Jacksonville’s defense dominated in the host Jaguars’ 26-0 victory against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon.
The Jaguars (9-7) snapped a four-game losing streak and moved closer to repeating as AFC South champions. They are tied atop the division with both Houston and Indianapolis and own potential tiebreakers over the Texans and Colts.
Sunday’s win came with backup quarterback C.J. Beathard at the controls for the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence, who sustained a shoulder injury a week earlier, missed a game for the first time since he arrived in the NFL in 2021, ending a string of 49 straight games.
Running back Travis Etienne Jr. scored two touchdowns, gaining 102 yards on 16 carries. Beathard was 17-for-24 passing for 178 yards.
Carolina quarterback Bryce Young, who was sacked six times, went 19-for-32 passing for 112 yards with an interception in another rough day for the team’s offense. The Panthers (2-14) went 0-9 in road games after producing only 124 yards of total offense and picking up seven first downs.
The loss guaranteed the Panthers will finish the season with the worst record in the NFL, giving the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to Chicago. The Bears acquired the Panthers’ first-round pick in a trade prior to the 2023 draft, when the Bears sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina. The Panthers used that pick to select Young.
McManus was good from 35, 26, 24 and 34 yards.
Jacksonville, which can clinch the division by winning next week at Tennessee, led 9-0 at halftime. Its first two scoring drives consisted of 13 and 12 plays, but both times resulted in field goals.
The Jaguars scored on their first second-quarter possession when Etienne ran 62 yards on the second snap of the drive. McManus added his fourth field goal with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Etienne was in the end zone again with 4:18 left in the game on a 1-yard run.
Among Jacksonville’s defensive highlights was Josh Allen record three sacks to reach a single-season, franchise-record 16 1/2 sacks.
The Panthers upset the Atlanta Falcons, who were a co-divisional leader at the time, two weeks ago and nearly stunned the Green Bay Packers last week. But there was no upset alert brewing in this game.
Carolina hasn’t scored a touchdown in two of its last three games.
–Field Level Media
