Jonathon Brooks finally got his moment back in the end zone Friday night, and for Carolina it was the kind of clean, encouraging preseason snap that says a little more than the box score does.
Brooks’ score came from one yard out, finishing a 58-yard Panthers drive and putting Carolina up 7-0 early against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Preseason Week 2. It was his first touchdown since 2024, and though preseason scores don’t go into the record book, the scene said plenty. Brooks touched the tattoo honoring his late father, pointed to the sky, and then got swallowed up by teammates at the goal line.
Adam Schefter posted video of the play on X and called it “Jonathon Brooks’ first NFL touchdown”
Jonathon Brooks’ first NFL touchdown. pic.twitter.com/EaNNfyoamc
- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2026
Carolina went on to win 34-17 at EverBank Stadium, according to ESPN’s box score, and the Panthers kept control after a first quarter that stayed relatively close. Jacksonville trailed just 7-3 after Cam Little’s field goal, but Carolina took over from there, scoring in every remaining quarter and outscoring the Jaguars 27-14 the rest of the way, per Jaguars.com’s official game report.
Bryce Young got the start and looked sharp in a short stint, completing 5 of 6 passes for 49 yards before handing things over to Kenny Pickett and Kyle Trask, who split the rest of the night. Young said it was a strong step forward for an offense that had struggled a week earlier against Buffalo, according to the Associated Press.
Brooks’ night wasn’t spotless. He finished with five carries for 18 yards and the touchdown, but he also missed a pass-protection assignment earlier in the drive that led to Young taking a hit on an incompletion. Still, the overall picture was exactly what Carolina wanted: real reps, starter work, and a player shaking off rust after a long layoff, as Panthers.com noted in its rapid reactions.
The Panthers leaned on the run game with intent. A.J.
Dillon added a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter, part of a ground-heavy approach that Panthers.com said had as much to do with getting Brooks back into rhythm as anything else. The passing game later took over the scoring, with Roc Taylor hauling in a contested 16-yard touchdown from Pickett late in the third quarter and Casey Washington catching a 15-yard touchdown from Trask in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Jimmy Horn Jr. also broke loose for a 39-yard run on a jet-sweep style handoff, one of Carolina’s bigger explosive plays of the night, per Jaguars.com. The game ended a few minutes early after a lightning delay in the Jacksonville area, and both coaching staffs agreed not to wait through the mandatory 30-minute stoppage once the result was essentially settled.
For Brooks, the night carried extra weight. Carolina traded up to take him with the 46th overall pick in the 2024 draft, banking on a back who had rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in his final season at Texas while playing through an ACL tear. He played in three games as a rookie before tearing the same ACL again, which wiped out his entire 2025 season.
Now, with Chuba Hubbard no longer on the roster, Carolina is counting on Brooks as a key part of the backfield behind Dillon and Trevor Etienne. Head coach Dave Canales said this month the plan was to work Brooks into early first-team reps once his practice window opened, and Friday’s usage matched that idea, with Brooks getting five carries with the starters before the rotation widened.
Brooks spoke after the game about the touchdown and tied the moment to a promise made to his father, who has passed away, according to Panthers.com. Young, who helped set up the scoring drive with completions to Tommy Tremble and Tetairoa McMillan, said afterward he was genuinely excited watching Brooks get into the end zone.
The Panthers still have two weeks of roster decisions ahead, and one preseason touchdown won’t settle anything on its own. But for Brooks, Friday night was a meaningful step.
Carolina finishes its preseason at home against the Houston Texans on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. ET. Jacksonville closes its preseason schedule the same night against Tampa Bay.
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