Panthers vs. Jets: Winners and Losers from Week 3 Preseason Battle

The New York Jets and Carolina Panthers took battle in another meaningless game, but there were still plenty of things to learn.

The final score and stats certainly don't matter, but the preseason is all about the process, not the results. As much as most people hate the extended exhibition season, the process paints a pretty clear picture.

Let's take a look at that picture from Sunday night's contest. 

Winners

Quinton Coples, New York Jets

Coples was one of the most enigmatic players in the 2012 NFL draft. His physical gifts were drool-worthy, but his senior-year production at North Carolina was lackluster. 

Clearly more teams fell on the "unconvinced" side, as the 22-year-old defensive end dropped to the Jets at pick No. 16.

It's still early, but that's beginning to look like a steal. 

For the third straight preseason game, Coples' motor was running on high. He was constantly in the backfield, and his relentless pressure culminated with a sack and forced fumble on Cam Newton—the rookie's third sack of the preseason.

If the Jets are going to have any success this year, the defense will have to be near perfect. Should Coples continue to play like this, there is a much better chance of that happening. 

Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers

As the first half wore on, it really felt like I was watching two of the top Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates. Coples the one, Luke Kuechly the other. 

Kuechly was an absolute tackling machine at Boston College, yet, much like Coples, there were pundits who doubted him, although it was for opposite reasons. The big linebacker's lack of athleticism earned him plenty of criticism.

Yet, also like Coples, it appears the doubters were oh so wrong. 

Kuechly was all over the place on Sunday night, racking up 10 total tackles while the next closest player in that department was James Anderson with six.

Get used to that happening a lot. 

Losers

Jets Passing Game

You want the definition of "mess"? Just watch the Jets' passing game.

It's not just Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez, as most people would have you believe. Let's face it, they were both bad and made plenty of mistakes, but the wide receivers were just as inconsistent versus Carolina.

Stephen Hill had a nice game with five catches for 68 yards, but he had a couple of drops, including one bad one that resulted in an interception for Sanchez. The rest of the corps couldn't get consistent separation from the secondary, meaning that even when the offensive line protected Sanchez and Tebow, there wasn't anywhere to throw to.

The whole production was just ugly, and to top it all off, Dustin Keller and Josh Baker both left with injuries. Uh oh. 

Panthers Running Game

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are likely to get a 50-50 split at running back this season, and on Thursday they combined to carry the rock 15 times for 52 yards. Not spectacular, but certainly not a reason to call them losers of the night.

But Williams fumbled twice—meaning he let go of the ball 25 percent of the time—and Stewart left with an ankle injury. That's definitely not a good sign for a what looked like a stacked, deep unit coming in.

It's a good thing Newton is a running back, too...oh yeah, he also lost a fumble. 

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