EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (WBTV) – A trio of South Carolina Gamecocks saved the day for the Panthers on Sunday, and helped them to their longest winning streak in four years.
Former Gamecocks Jaycee Horn, Xavier Legette and Rico Dowdle all played big roles in Carolina’s 13-6 win over the New York Jets. The victory marked the Panthers’ third-straight win, which is their best run since the start of the Sam Darnold era in 2021.
Horn — a cornerback, Legette — a wide receiver, and Dowdle — a running back, each were vital to the Panthers’ success.
Horn had two second-half interceptions — including one he snagged with one hand, Legette had the game’s only touchdown plus a game-sealing catch, and Dowdle led the team with 96 total yards of offense.
“We’re doing a good job right now of coming together to win football games,” Horn said after the game. “It’s a long season … I go back to my rookie season we started 3-0 [in 2021], and then it went down hill after that. So you just got to stay locked in week to week. We’re going to celebrate this on the plane, the rest of today. Tomorrow, we’re going to come in here and make corrections and get ready for Buffalo.”
Jaycee Horn (8) had two key interceptions to help the Panthers win their third-straight game on Sunday.(Seth Wenig | AP)
“[The team is] just continuing to fight,” Dowdle said postgame. “Going out there to fight each and every week … It was a tough, grind-it-out win today and we were just able to grind it out. And we’ve just been able to win multiple ways.”
Bryce Young dealing with ankle injury
Prior to Sunday, the Panthers were 0-3 on the road in 2025, which kept them from taking the winless Jets lightly. As bad as the Jets’ offense has been, their defense is quietly one of the better ones in the NFL.
Carolina saw that defense firsthand, and scored only 13 points during the first three quarters before starting quarterback Bryce Young exited with a right ankle injury. Veteran backup Andy Dalton came in for Young but did not lead a scoring driving over the final 15 minutes of Sunday’s game. Dalton did, though, seal the win with a 33-yard completion to Legette on a critical third down.
It remains to be seen how serious Young’s injury was, or if he will miss any time because of it. X-rays reportedly came back clean on Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person; however, Panthers head coach Dave Canales didn’t divulge much postgame.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young sustained a right ankle injury during Sunday’s win over the New York Jets.(Adam Hunger | AP)
“We’re taking all the information in,” Canales said in his postgame presser. “We’re going to look at him when we get home some more, and see where we’re at.”
He did not specifically call the injury a sprain, even when specifically asked, and said he didn’t want to give “any specifics.”
Canales will likely give more of an update on his quarterback during his Monday afternoon press conference. If Young does miss any time, Dalton would be in line to start.
Up next, Carolina will put its perfect 3-0 home record on the line when it hosts the Buffalo Bills this coming Sunday, with hopes of pushing its three-game win streak to four.
The Panthers were listed as 7.5-point underdogs by FanDuel on Monday morning, although that could change with Carolina’s quarterback situation in flux.
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