JACKSONVILLE – Call this one a good start.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis and linebacker Foye Oluokun made clear on Sunday that's all the 2025 regular-season opener was – and that much work must be done beyond an impressive Jaguars victory and an encouraging defensive performance. But make no mistake:

As starts go, this was close to ideal.

"That's damned good defense," Head Coach Liam Coen said, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence adding, "Our defensive played great."

The Jaguars on Sunday held the Carolina Panthers to 255 yards and 15 first downs in a 26-10 victory at EverBank Stadium. They registered one sack with three takeaways after finishing 32^nd in the NFL with nine takeaways – eight defensively – in 2024.

"If everybody's on the same page, we can be a very dangerous defense," Oluokun said.

Coen called Sunday's turnovers "huge."

"To get three in one game is probably a good start," Coen said.

The Jaguars, after allowing a field goal on the opening Carolina drive, did not allow another score until Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed a 27-yard swing pass to running back Chuba Hubbard. That made it 23-10, Jaguars, with 4:47 remaining.

Young completed 18 of 35 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, with Foyesade Oluokun registering a second-quarter interception that led to a touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrenceto tight end Hunter Long.

"To be a dominant defense it takes the whole season," Oluokun said. "It can't go ups and downs. You have to really stack games. You have to stack streaks and stuff. To come out, it's definitely a good, tone-setting game.

"We have a lot of stuff to clean up. We have good vets that will come in, kind of go through these meetings, understand what we have to do better."

The Jaguars registered a second takeaway late in the first half when Oluokun forced a fumble by Young that Lewis recovered at the Jaguars 32. That led to a 47-yard field goal by kicker Cam Little that gave the Jaguars a 20-3 lead with :01 remaining in the first half.

The Jaguars registered their third turnover Sunday when Lewis intercepted Young at the Panthers 48 with :44 remaining.

"That is a staple of a really good defense, a great defense – getting the ball back," Lewis said. "We pride ourselves on getting the ball back and being physical. We did a really good job today getting the ball back. Hopefully, those come in bunches.

"We have a lot of things to clean up. It's always that standard. We set the standard pretty high, and we have to keep the standard every week."

NOTABLE WEEK 1 MOMENTS

• Jaguars rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter caught six passes for 33 yards Sunday, playing 39 snaps on offense and six on defense. "I did my job," Hunter said. "That was the main focus, me doing my job. I did what they asked me to do, and I know I could do more and I know I could do better." Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, practiced extensively on both offense and defense during training camp and is expected to play significantly on both sides – which Coen said afterward remains the plan. "That was game one," Coen said, noting that Hunter missed about a week and a half of training camp and preseason with an upper-body injury. "That was week one, where you miss ten days or so, and there was a lot of different kind of coverage changes in the back end for us with some of their formations, adjustments. It was a lot that those guys had to handle defensively. It will only continue to evolve and go more. He played hard on offense He played fast. He had some good catches, ran the right route. I can only see it going and expanding from here."
• Coen, coaching in his first game as a head coach, received a game ball from Jaguars Owner Shad Khan afterward. "We'll give out more on Monday," Coen said, adding that while he was a bit reluctant to receive the honor, "My boss gave it to me, so I had to accept it. It's a cool moment for me personally and all that, but it's about those guys. These guys played their tails off." Lawrence said he had a game ball saved for Coen. "Mr. Khan gave him one, so it was perfect," Lawrence said. "It's good."
• Coen on Sunday's victory: "Was it perfect? Absolutely not." Perhaps the most glaring imperfection: Penalties, with the Jaguars committing 11 for 93 yards – continuing a trend Coen discussed often during training camp and preseason. "We're frustrated with some of the penalties that have continued to bite us in the butt," Coen said. "We did overcome them at times, but it's not something we want to get used to doing by any means. When you play teams as we go throughout this thing, we cannot do those things and expect to win." Said Lawrence, "Too many penalties in general, but hey, found a way to get a win."