Jets at Panthers score, takeaways: Sam Darnold wins Carolina debut vs. former team; rookie Zach Wilson uneven

It wasn't exactly the barnburner you were hoping to see, but things got extremely interesting before it was all said and done. The New York Jets were putting up little resistance for much of the game, but some late-game gumption from rookie first-round pick Zach Wilson gave the Carolina Panthers a real last-minute scare before escaping with a 19-14 victory at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte Sunday afternoon. In any other season, barring you being a fan of either team, you'd probably would've glossed over this Week 1 matchup. But in 2021, you would've been foolish to do so, even though it didn't burn down the scoreboard. Headlined by Wilson working to outplay his predecessor in former Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold, it was the latter who had the last laugh.

Locked in a scoreless tie in the middle of the second quarter, Darnold made a phenomenal throw to wide receiver D.J. Moore for a sideline catch that required every molecule of toe-drag swag to keep inbounds. But Darnold giveth and Darnold taketh away, coughing up an untimely fumble on fourth-and-1 from the Jets 4-yard line when trying to hand the ball off to running back Christian McCaffrey. Luckily for Darnold, Wilson was prepped to make the first big mistake of his young NFL career: tossing an interception that was tipped and reeled in by linebacker Shaq Thompson.

The Panthers capitalized on the mulligan with a field goal that broke the scoring drought and seemingly opened the flood gates, because Darnold then reminded everyone his arm can be a problem for opposing defenses. On the Panthers' next drive, Darnold tossed a dot to Robby Anderson, his former Jet compatriot, scoring on a 57-yard moonshot. A missed field goal by Ryan Santoso kept it at a three-field goal affair, but the Panthers (on both offense and defense) started to finally find a groove.

The second half became more of a showing for the Panthers defense than Darnold, but that's all they needed considering Wilson continued to operate under duress and with little protection along with no aid from Tevin Coleman and the run game. Playing from behind for the entire contest and being forced into a one-dimensional attack with a rookie QB at the helm was exactly what head coach Matt Rhule was hoping to see, and the result was exactly as you'd expect. Darnold and the Panthers were in the driver's seat while Wilson was mostly a deer in headlights, but he did do a bit of damage late versus Carolina -- throwing for a second career touchdown in the final minutes -- something to hold onto if you're a Jets fan.

There's a major concern on the injury front for Gang Green, however, with starting tackle Mekhi Becton being carted off of the field with an apparent knee injury in the third quarter. That, needless to say, might be the biggest story of the week for the Jets, depending on what his test results reveal.

Be sure to catch up on all of the action you might've missed in the live blog below.

Why the Panthers won

For at least one day in their forever-entwined NFL careers, Darnold was better than Wilson. 

Adding to that is just how dominant the Panthers defense was, going on to sack the rookie quarterback a total of five times in the game and forcing him into an interception and a fumble, although the Jets would recover the latter and avoid giving the ball away yet again in Carolina. From a defensive standpoint, Thompson ruled the day, his aforementioned INT adding to a team-high 10 combined tackles, and the five sacks were spread out over five different players. That means the onslaught was more of a carpet bombing on Wilson with the first-year signal-caller having no idea where the next hit would come from. So by the time Christian McCaffrey put the exclamation point on his return with 187 total yards from scrimmage that were nearly split even between rushing and passing yards, it was really all the Jets could do to make the final score a respectable one. They weren't blown out, but they were embarrassed, a couple of flashes from Wilson notwithstanding. 

Why the Jets lost

Zach Wilson got bullied.

There's no other way to describe what happened in Carolina in his debut when considering the five sacks don't even remotely tell the entire story. There were additional hurries/pressures that left him unsettled in the pocket the entire game, and in such a situation, it then becomes paramount that the running attack takes pressure off of the QB. Unfortunately for the Jets, they were only able to muster a total of 45 rushing yards with no touchdowns from three players combined -- namely Tevin Coleman (24 yards on nine carries), Ty Johnson (15 yards on four carries) and fourth-round rookie Michael Carter (six yards on four carries) -- giving Wilson nothing of merit on that front. In all, the Panthers made the Jets one dimensional and then began pinning their ears back and welcoming Wilson to the league with their own brand of Carolina justice. 

Turning Point

Talk about saving the day.

A disastrous fumble from Darnold on the previous series was deleted by Shaq Thompson picking off Wilson, giving the ball back to Darnold and the offense and leading to points the Jets would never recover from.

Play of the Game

Stop me if you've heard this before Jets fans: Darnold to Anderson for the touchdown.

Once this faucet was opened, Darnold began believing in himself, and a second touchdown (rushing) in short order was enough to keep Wilson and the Jets at bay for the remainder of the contest. Darnold cooled down after, but it didn't matter, because kaboom.

Shaq Attack

"Set the tone!!!!! Team dub." - Shaq Thompson after the game, via Twitter

What's next

The Panthers will now take on a presumably more daunting challenge in Week 2 when they host the rival New Orleans Saints. For the Jets, who now seem to have major injury concerns, it's all about trying to rebound in a few days. However, they'll have to get through Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to avoid an 0-2 start to WIlson's career.