JACKSONVILLE – Each week during the 2025 season, Jaguars "experts" – Frank Frangie, Jeff Lageman, Brent Martineau, John Oehser, Brian Sexton, J.P. Shadrick and Kainani Stevens – will analyze the following day's Jaguars matchup.

Up this week:

The Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium.

Brian Sexton, jaguars.com senior correspondent

• The Jaguars will win if: They can run and open up the playbook. Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen is supposed to be an excellent offensive play caller, but if the offense can't stay on the field – and it hasn't for the last two seasons – then all that talent is wasted. Coen proved he can revive a running game last season in Tampa, and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield posted the best season of his career. Run the ball and win on Sunday.
• The Panthers will win if: They can attack a rebuilt Jaguars defensive backfield. Time and again last season, we saw an opposing quarterback make big plays against the secondary; they seemed powerless to stop what they knew was coming. If Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young can do what Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff were able to last season, it's going to be a long day – and a long season – in Jacksonville.
• As Sexton sees it: The Jaguars have a better roster than the Panthers. They'll get a Week 1 victory on the strength of a rebuilt running game and a talented defensive line, which will control the lines of scrimmage.

John Oehser, jaguars.com senior writer

• The Jaguars will win if: They run well and are the more physical team. Coen has emphasized these areas since taking the head coaching position in January and they will be key Sunday. Look for Coen to be creative in the run game with the idea of setting up quarterback Trevor Lawrence for success in the play-action passing game. If that happens, the Jaguars can use their offensive speed for big plays.
• The Panthers will win if: They establish physical dominance offensively over the Jaguars' defense. The Panthers are a strong running team with strong, long receivers. If the Jaguars get overmatched by the Panthers' strength offensively, it will be difficult to establish momentum.
• As Oehser sees it: Jaguars observers see this is a winnable game for the good guys. Panthers observers see it the same way for their good guys. This is a game between a Panthers team trying further establish an identity and a Jaguars team trying to start establishing an identity. The Jaguars' speed could give them a slight edge here.

Brent Martineau, Action Sports Jax Sports Director

• The Jaguars will win if: They run for more yards than the Panthers. Here we go. We get the chance to see if the Jaguars are as physical as they think they are, if Coen can get this run game going and how the backfield will be deployed. This is a statement opportunity to establish an identity.
• The Panthers will win if: They win the turnover battle. The Jaguars' focus has been on not beating themselves. If the Panthers can force the Jaguars into a few critical mistakes, it will be too much for Jacksonville to overcome and the Panthers will win on the road.
• As Martineau sees it: The Jaguars have had offseason momentum in the past, but this does feel different. The buy-in is real and the confidence is real. I think the Jaguars will make a good first impression in this new era. I think we will see a Travis Hunter highlight or two, a confident and efficient Lawrence and an improved defense. The Jaguars will win the opener, 27-17.

J.P. Shadrick, jaguars.com senior reporter

• The Jaguars will win if: They control the lines of scrimmage. The Jaguars' offensive line had questions about physicality a year ago, and they will be tested right out of the gate against two of the most physical defensive linemen in the game with Derrick Brown and A'Shawn Robinson.
• The Panthers will win if: Running back Chuba Hubbard gets in rhythm in the running game, giving Young time to throw to long, tall receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Xavier Legette. The Jaguars' front seven on defense will be tested against the run, and the corners have to get hands on both those receivers at the line of scrimmage and disrupt their timing.
• As Shadrick sees it: This feels like a game between teams that want to run to settle in their quarterbacks. Lawrence enters his fifth NFL season learning his third different offense. Young enters his third season after building momentum down the stretch last year. Both defenses stunk last season but made significant changes: the Jags blew up the whole coaching staff and had personnel changes, while the Panthers brought in a whole new wave of players. There is so much unknown in Week 1 that can change a game: unscouted looks, changes in momentum, communication issues. There will be adversity. What side handles it the best will win the game.

Jeff Lageman, Jaguars analyst and former Jaguars defensive end

• The Jaguars will win if: They play a clean, physical game in the home opener. Avoiding or minimizing mistakes such as turnovers, penalties and mental errors always gives a team the best chance at success. Combine that with a physical brand of football that a Coen-coached team wants and this new era in Jaguars football will start off in proper form.
• The Panthers will win if: They get their running game going for Young. Hubbard is a quality running back; if he gets going, then the complementary passing game that gets Young moving will open up and allow him to find his big wide receivers.
• As Lageman sees it: This game reunites two expansion franchises from days of old, with both trying to recapture the success each had in the early years. Both are doing it with former No. 1 pick quarterbacks that have yet to find the winning ways. Two defenses also will be looking to climb out of the cellar from last season. Only one team will feel good about the results Sunday evening. My teal-colored glasses are helping me pick the Jags.

Frank Frangie, Radio Voice of the Jaguars

• The Jaguars will win if: They are able to take the vibe and clear connectivity we all saw during camp and the preseason into the season. This franchise appears to be in a really good place -- with everyone pulling in the same direction. That should turn into good play during the season. Regarding the game, the Jags have the better roster. They need to run the ball, whichever running backs are used. They need to involve the impressive collection of receivers early, get everyone into the flow early. And defensively, somehow find the right combination of defensive tackles to stuff the run and make Young throw off schedule. That is when he has struggled. And for the Jags, the defensive tackle position has been the biggest question mark in camp.
• The Panthers will win if: They can stop the run. Their only chance is to establish the run and control the clock, the rhythm of the game. The Panthers would prefer a low-scoring game headed into the closing moments.
• As Frangie sees it: This is a fun matchup of the last two Tampa Bay offensive coordinators now as head coaches. Both have to rebuild in some ways, but the Jags are closer. Take care of the ball, don't beat yourselves, and the Jags should win.

Kainani Stevens, Jaguars team reporter

• The Jaguars will win if: The offense can operate cleanly, and the defense can get after the quarterback. I don't think it will take an otherworldly performance from Lawrence to win, but he needs to avoid unforced errors and make sound decisions. Jaguars defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker should have ample opportunity to wreak havoc against a banged-up Panthers offensive line.
• The Panthers will win if: They pick up where they left off at the end of last season. Young and Panthers head coach Dave Canales finally got in sync in the second half of their first season together. Young will need to have some trust in his young receivers, but I'm excited to see the game plan Canales puts together.
• As Stevens sees it: There are so many weird things about Week 1 in the NFL, but I'm going to stay positive until I'm given a reason to think otherwise. The vibes are high in the building, and I predict the good times keep rolling. Jags get a victory in Coen's coaching debut and the season opener.