Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold won’t have to wait long for his revenge game against the Jets. The full 2021 schedule will drop this evening, but CBS Sports got the first leak of the day by reporting the entire Week 1 slate. Carolina has since confirmed they’ll host New York Week 1, which will be Sunday, Sept. 12 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
It’s not hard to see why the league chose to have these teams kick off the season against eachother. There are tons of stories to follow even if the whole Darnold revenge angle isn’t your cup of tea.
To name a few, the Jets will be starting Zach Wilson, who was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft and will replace Darnold at quarterback. Another debut for New York will be former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in his first game as an NFL head coach. He’ll be matching wits with Matt Rhule, who interviewed for Saleh’s position a few years ago.
The Panthers also have several other former Jets players on their roster, including Robby Anderson, Frankie Luvu, Trenton Cannon and Pat Elflein. On the other side, the Jets have former Carolina guard Greg Van Roten.
While the first game of the year is exciting, fans probably shouldn’t expect a playoff type of atmosphere. New York went 2-14 last season, while Carolina finished 5-11.
