Jaguars vs. Panthers: 5 Players to Watch

The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially ruled Trevor Lawrence out for the team’s Week 17 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Thus the team’s young star will miss the first game of his NFL career, nursing various injuries to his ankle, knee, and shoulder. In steps C.J. Beathard, who will make his first start since the 2020 season for the San Francisco 49ers. The Jaguars staff and roster will need to aid Beathard in order to beat an increasingly competitive Panthers’ team.

Here are five Jaguars to watch in Week 17 against the Panthers,

C.J. Beathard

In the world of professional football, injuries are something every team faces each season. Now, C.J. Beathard suits up as the Jaguars’ quarterback with Lawrence having been ruled out. Beathard has had little playing time since his time in San Francisco. In his short time playing in Jacksonville, the former Iowa Hawkeye has fared well, completing 76% of his passes with both a touchdown and an interception.

Beathard enters New Years’ Eve with what is possibly the most important game of his career as the Jaguars’ playoff hopes hang in the balance. Many backup quarterbacks have exceeded expectations this season, hopefully Beathard can do so as well.

Cam Robinson

Cam Robinson’s absence has been detrimental to the success of the Jaguars’ offense. As noted by Big Cat Country’s Gus Logue, the Jaguars are 6-1 with Robinson and 2-6 without him. The team hopes that Robinson’s return will both jump start the plodding run-game and help protect Beathard in the pocket.

Robinson has statistically been one of the better pass-protecting tackles in football this season, allowing just 10 pressures on 248 pass-block snaps, ranking 17th among qualifying tackles. Additionally, opposing bookend Anton Harrison’s level of play makes these two one of the better pass-blocking duos in the NFL when healthy. Robinson will need to return ready to go in order to keep Beathard comfortable.

Calvin Ridley

I keep referring to Calvin Ridley’s season in Jacksonville as a roller coaster ride, and those bumps and valleys continue as Ridley found success in the second half last week, finishing with six catches for 90 yards and two scores. It is of note that Beathard was able to connect several times with Ridley even if it was merely in “garbage time”.

Ridley’s season has been hard to gauge. At times, he looks like the former star we had seen with Atlanta. Other times, Lawrence and Ridley just can’t seem to get on the same page, evidenced by his 56% catch rate. With Lawrence and Kirk out, the offense will need to rely on Ridley to keep the Jaguars’ offense moving.

Roy Robertson-Harris

The Jaguars’ pass-rush duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker has become one of the league’s most productive duos. That said, the Jaguars’ defensive interior has left something to be desired. Against the Bucs, however, that seemed to change as Roy Robertson-Harris led the team in pressures with six, a season high for No.95.

Robertson-Harris also collected a sack this past weekend, bringing his season total to 2.5. Unfortunately, too many of Jacksonville’s pressures have gone unawarded as the team has one of the lowest sack totals in the NFL. Some of that can, no doubt, be attributed to the lack of pass-rush from the interior. If Robertson-Harris can replicate his play facing Carolina this weekend, the Jaguars should run free against one of the NFL’s most susceptible lines and sackable quarterbacks.

Foyesade Oluokun

The race for the NFL’s tackle champion is coming down to the wire as Jaguars’ Foye Oluokun (160) and Colts’ Zaire Franklin (161) sprint to the finish line to decide who finishes with the most. Foye has been stellar in 2023 and would likely be the team’s best player if not for the season Josh Allen has had.

The Panthers offense is, how do I put this modestly, bad. It’s really bad. While the team is certainly on the upslope, looking far more competitive as of late, there is no denying that this team needs help and a lot of it. Given the offensive line of the Panthers and Jaguars’ pass-rush, I expect a short passing attack from Bryce Young and Carolina, which means plenty of opportunities for Oluokun to rack up both tackles and defensive stops.