JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton, team reporter Kainani Stevens and correspondent John Shipley offer quick thoughts as the Jaguars move forward to Preseason Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium Friday
More good than bad. The Jaguars’ 24-20 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome in Preseason Week 1 Saturday wasn’t perfect, and the first-half offensive performance was particularly rough. Remember, though: Few starters played, so sloppiness and lack of cohesion were expected. While backup quarterback Nick Mullens struggled along with the offensive line early, rookie receivers such as Josh Cameron, CJ Williams and Trebor Peña had moments throughout the game – as did rookie running back J’Mari Taylor and rookie defensive tackle Albert Regis, among others. Perhaps one very encouraging sign was that both Regis and veteran defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro registered sacks – with Orhorhoro sharing his with defensive end Danny Striggow. The Jaguars need interior pressure, and perhaps Regis and Orhorhoro can begin mattering there. Either way, this was a game featuring many players who won’t be on the roster this season. But multiple young players who figure to matter very much in the coming seasons got their first NFL game action, and a lot of those young players had some encouraging moments.Ramping it up. Consider this next week or two tricky ones for the Jaguars and Head Coach Liam Coen. The idea is to get a lot out of a joint practice against the Carolina Panthers this week and two joint practices next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That work ideally would include extensive and intensive work for the Jaguars’ offensive line, but injuries to linemen such as tackle Walker Little, guard Patrick Mekari and tackle Chuma Edoga could make that more difficult than normal. “Unfortunately, we have that bug at the moment,” Coen said Saturday. “We just have to get through it. We have two weeks of good work ahead that we need to take a step in the right direction. This is the time in training camp where these things sometimes pop up. Unfortunately, it is at a position which is hard to function when you have depth issues and injuries. We will get through it and be all right.” This isn’t a season-threatening issue. None of the injuries are thought to be season-ending. But it is making training camp trickier than is ideal.The right response. The Jaguars fell behind early – in practice on Thursday and again on Saturday, with Coen saying at halftime he wanted to see his team respond. Down 20-6, they overcame the penalties, turnovers and missed tackles of the first two quarters and showed Coen what he wanted to see: A tough team that could stand strong, absorb body blows, then start punching back. Quarterback Carter Bradley led a 10-play drive to start the third quarter that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Long. Bradley added a 17-play field goal drive and quarterback Joey Aguilar made a beautiful fourth quarter throw to wide receiver Trebor Peña that set up the go-ahead touchdown run by Taylor. The Jaguars completed the come-from-behind victory when cornerback Jabbar Muhammad defensed a pass in the end zone on the game’s final play. There is much to correct, but the outcome is something they were able to correct in real time.You play how you practice. Edge rusher B.J. Green II is one of the stories of Jaguars 2026 Training Camp. The second-year veteran has been beastly in practice – and was again Saturday. Green was all over the quarterback, and when linebacker Yasir Abdullah knocked the ball from Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler’s hands, he recovered and set up a field goal. You felt his presence everywhere, and the same can be said of rookie safety Jalen Huskey, who had three tackles and defensed a pass. Taylor, also a strong practice player, rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The same is true of rookie wide receivers CJ Williams and Josh Cameron. They are not yet household names, but the Jaguars are counting on them for the future and it was important to see them succeed Saturday.