For most of 2025, Jaycee Horn has been the Carolina Panthers’ defensive constant, a lockdown presence leading all cornerbacks in interceptions. But his performance in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints is one he'll want to forget in a hurry.
The Panthers slipped to 5-5. Their defense gave up just 17 points, but they still felt gutted. And their most reliable player was at the heart of the collapse.
It was something Panthers fans haven’t seen since Horn arrived in 2021: the team’s best defensive player becoming the weakest link in the moments that decided the outcome.
Horn’s self-critique afterward was blunt: “That’s what the game came down to, two big plays.”
Carolina Panthers aren't good enough to compensate for bad Jaycee Horn games
The first was the 62-yard touchdown to wide receiver Chris Olave, which at full speed looked like a push-off. Horn slipped and looked around for a pass interference call, but the flag never came.
The second touchdown was uglier. Tight end Juwan Johnson caught a pass underneath with nothing but green ahead after Horn slipped again.
These weren’t schematic failures or miscommunications; they were breakdowns from the player Carolina trusts most to erase everyone else’s mistakes. And that’s why they stung. Horn has quietly been playing at the highest level of his career.
He has three interceptions, tied for the most among NFL cornerbacks. He rarely leaves the field, playing 97 percent of defensive snaps. He routinely handles the opponent’s top receiver with little safety help. And before Week 10, Horn had only given up one explosive play across his previous three contests combined.
The truth is that Horn is one of only a handful of truly elite players on this roster. Teams like Carolina can’t afford their stars to be merely average, much less liabilities. When he fell (literally, twice), he took the entire defensive structure with him.
But instead of deflecting, Horn gathered the defense and told them not to lose their confidence. He insisted he would be better. That accountability matters because of what’s next.
Carolina’s upcoming stretch features passing attacks willing to test corners vertically and stress discipline. It also matters because the Panthers’ defense has quietly climbed into the league’s middle tier after ranking among the worst in NFL history against the run.
This outing was a crack in the foundation, not a collapse. Horn has given Carolina too many airtight performances to assume this becomes a trend. But this game carried weight because it exposed a truth Panthers fans don’t want to confront: when their defensive anchor struggles, there’s no secondary figure capable of steadying the ship.
Horn knows it, too: “I’m going to be better,” he promised. “I can’t wait for next Sunday.”