This is strange territory for the Carolina Panthers — and it’s not because they haven’t had a road game against the New York Jets since 2017.
The true rarity is that Panthers will have three more victories than their opponent when they match up with the Jets on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Jets (0-6) will be in their third true home game, and the fan discontent is growing. Half of the Jets’ losses were by two points, including a 13-11 setback to the Denver Broncos in London last week.
“We’re trying to improve,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “We know exactly where we’re at, and we’re not accepting being 0-6 at all. We know that we all have to improve.”
The Panthers (3-3) have won two games in a row, both at home. They have struggled much like the Jets in recent seasons: New York hasn’t had a winning season since 2015, while Carolina’s drought stretches to 2017.
“We’d be fools to sit here and think they’re just going to lay down when we got to go up there and play them at home,” Panthers defenseman lineman Derrick Brown said.
Despite the Jets’ woes, quarterback Justin Fields hasn’t thrown an interception this season. There are suggestions, however, that the New York offense isn’t taking enough chances to make things happen.
“I feel like I’ve been a little too conservative in a sense,” Fields said. “Probably just be a little bit more aggressive.”
Glenn trusts Fields to make the right plays.
“The thing is he just has to go out there and play quarterback and do the best that he can,” Glenn said. “But I don’t come off that at all, when you’re in man coverage I mean you got to give your guys a chance to go catch the ball.”
Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks held the same position in 2017 at Carolina, where he also became an interim coach for part of the 2022 season.
Glenn said the Jets did a solid job keeping Denver’s rushing attack in check.
“When you can stymie a run game like that, it really builds the confidence within us,” the coach said.
The Jets will be challenged by Carolina’s ground attack. Rico Dowdle has run for 389 yards over the past two games while filling in for Chuba Hubbard (calf), who returned to the practice field Wednesday.
“It gets a lot more fun for me the more opportunities we have out there,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said of options on offense.
New York receiver Garrett Wilson didn’t participate in practice on Wednesday because of a knee injury. His status for Sunday sounds shaky at best.
“It’s the next-man up mentality,” Fields said. “We’ve got some guys who have the opportunity on the offensive side of the ball to make some plays.”
The Panthers will be without outside linebacker Patrick Jones II, who sidelined for the rest of the season with a back injury. That puts Nic Scourton in an elevated role.
Carolina is 0-3 in road games.
“That’s a piece of what we’re trying to build here,” Canales said. “We have to be able to go on the road and function the way we have been at home.”
The Panthers and Jets have two common opponents already this season, with Carolina defeating Miami and Dallas in the last two weeks.
Carolina leads the series 5-3 all-time but is 1-2 on the road vs. the Jets.
