Bryce Young and the Panthers find better footing in a 34-17 victory at the Jaguars

Bryce Young had much more success in his second game of the preseason, completing 5 of 6 passes for 49 yards and setting up a touchdown in Carolina’s 34-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars

Bryce Young had much more success in his second game of the preseason, going 5 of 6 for 49 yards passing and setting up a touchdown in the Carolina Panthers' 34-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday night.

The game was suspended because of lightning in the area with 2 minutes left on the clock, but both coaches agreed to end it instead of waiting the mandatory 30 minutes before resuming play.

Young directed a 58-yard scoring drive on the team’s second possession, picking up five first downs — five more than he had in three series at Buffalo last week. Jonathon Brooks capped the drive with 1-yard touchdown run.

“For us as a team, an identity, it was definitely a step in the right direction,” Young said. “You don’t want to get too high, too low. Figure out how we can replicate the good, and there’s plenty of stuff to learn from.”

A.J. Dillon also scored for the Panthers and receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. showed his speed with a 39-yard end-around, a 29-yard kickoff return and a 15-yard reception.

“I've always been a playmaker,” Horn said. “It's just showing up every day and being consistent and trusting the coaches and the plan they got set for me.”

It was a clear step forward for Young and Carolina’s first-team offense, which were no-shows against the Bills . The Panthers (2-1) managed 11 yards in three drives in Buffalo, with Young misfiring twice and getting sacked on three third-down plays.

“I was excited to see it come alive and just see more of the things that we’ve been seeing in camp,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “Just wanting it to translate in the game.”

Scoring against the Jaguars (1-1) should give Canales enough confidence to sit Young and other starters next week in the team’s preseason finale.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, held out all their starters for the second straight week and have no plans to play quarterback Trevor Lawrence, two-way star Travis Hunter or any other first-teamers in their final exhibition next week.

This one was messy for Jacksonville, which was penalized nine times in the first half to go along with two turnovers in the game.

Running back Ameer Abdullah, a 12-year NFL veteran vying for a roster spot, improved his chances with 82 total yards.

Abdullah ran six times for 45 yards, including a 23-yard spurt in which he juked cornerback Chau Smith-Wade in the flat, and added three receptions for 37 yards.