CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold can’t think of any time in sports -- or life -- he truly needed a second chance. Until now.

Three failed seasons with the New York Jets, the team he’ll face in Sunday’s opener at Bank of America Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS), is the reason.

“I feel like, for me, every opportunity I've found a way to kind of take advantage of,’’ Darnold told ESPN.com. “The Jets was kind of the first time in my life that I got something -- and that was taken away from me, for multiple reasons.

“I definitely didn't play good enough in my stint there. And I put it on myself.’’

This, in part, explains why there is no “blood and guts’’ revenge mentality from Darnold, like there was from wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. when, in 2014 at Baltimore, he faced the Panthers for the first time after being released.

Unlike many players who go against their former team for the first time, Darnold is not out to prove the Jets made a mistake in trading him. He’s not directing blame at former coach Adam Gase or anyone for him going 13-25 as the starter.

“And that's the end of it,’’ Darnold said. “We had a good system in New York. And there were countless plays where I messed up a read or I didn't throw it to the open guy."

Second-chance Rhule

The Panthers may be the perfect spot for Darnold, 24, to get his second chance, beginning with coach Matt Rhule.

Rhule believes in second chances. Look no further than Robby Anderson, who was Darnold’s favorite wide receiver with the Jets in 2018 and ’19.

Long before they teamed up in Carolina, Rhule gave Anderson two second chances when they were at Temple. The first came in 2013 after Anderson, frustrated by his role, left school. The second came in 2015 after Anderson was dismissed for academic reasons.

Anderson turned his career -- and life -- around under Rhule, and then he got another chance from his college coach last year at Carolina. He caught a career-high 95 passes for 1,096 yards in 2020, earning a recent two-year, $29.5 million extension.

He expects Darnold to thrive under Rhule as well.

“That probably was a part of why we are where we are,’’ Anderson said of being reunited with Darnold. “You get aligned with people you’re supposed to be around."

Rhule also expects Darnold to thrive after spending much of the offseason looking for quarterback options -- from Detroit’s Matthew Stafford to Houston’s Deshaun Watson -- to replace Teddy Bridgewater.

“I went around to all the different pro days and saw guys on other teams,’’ Rhule said of the April decision to send picks in the second round (2022), fourth round (2022) and sixth round (2021) to the Jets for Darnold. “I couldn’t find a guy that said something [negative]. They were all, ‘I believe in Sam Darnold. He’s got a fire in his belly.’

“In talking to the Jets personnel, they loved him.’’

Count first-year Jets coach Robert Saleh among the Darnold supporters. He called the third pick of the 2018 draft out of Southern Cal an “unbelievable talent’’ at his introductory news conference.

“[Darnold’s] going to have a heck of a career,’’ said Saleh, who moved forward with former Brigham Young quarterback Zach Wilson as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft. “He’s in a really good place to be successful.’’

New glow, charisma

Anderson noticed something different in Darnold the first time he saw him in Charlotte.

“A new energy out of him, like a glow, a charisma that I really didn’t see in New York," he said.

That’s something only those close to Darnold would notice, since he doesn’t show much emotion. But even those who haven’t been around Darnold for long are starting to see that energy.

“He’s come out of his shell," left tackle Cameron Erving said. “He’s not the rah-rah guy a lot of quarterbacks are. A lot of people see that as a problem, but I see it as a strength for him just because he’s being himself."

His personality fits the culture Rhule wants to build around. It’s that personality that keeps Darnold from badmouthing the Jets, or even talking about them.

For instance, when asked what he has with Carolina that he didn’t have with the Jets, he replied, “It’s warmer here.’’

Darnold doesn’t get caught up in himself. He doesn’t even have a Twitter account, choosing to do what little social media he does on Instagram.

“Yeah, my marketing team asked me why,’’ Darnold said with a laugh. “I said don't even go there. Not even gonna get one. ... It's just another distraction."

Darnold puts his energy into football, with few outside interests outside of golf and the beach.

“I love Sam,’’ offensive coordinator Joey Brady said. “Sometimes he gets too competitive. Sometimes on the headset I’ve got to say something to relax him a little bit.

“But I love coaching him. I love what he’s brought to this football team and our offense is feeding off him."

Footwork, mechanics

Panthers quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan believes much of what Darnold struggled with in New York can be improved with footwork.

“In a progression-style passing game, when your feet are on time and you’re in rhythm, you can make quick decisions and you’re comfortable doing it,’’ Ryan said.

Darnold admits his worst habit throughout his career has been keeping his feet calm in the pocket. That contributed to poor statistics -- 59.8 completion percentage, 39 interceptions to 45 touchdowns -- with the Jets.

“I always noticed it when I was reading to my left and then trying to come back to the right, I wouldn’t bring my feet with me,’’ he said. “So I was throwing essentially all arm when I was coming back to my right.’’

Darnold doesn’t blame the Jets for that, but others do. ESPN analyst Marcus Spears, a former NFL defensive end, said “none of us’’ would have been calm behind Darnold’s offensive line, particularly in the Jets’ scheme.

“He was running an offense that was terrible,’’ Spears said. “This is a better situation.’’

Spears noted Darnold’s supporting cast, from arguably the best all-around back in the league in Christian McCaffrey to receivers Anderson and DJ Moore.

“You just want to simplify things,’’ Spears said. “You want to allow their talent to be on display and allow them to play simple football.’’

Spears reminded that Brady helped turn LSU quarterback Joe Burrow from an average quarterback who threw 16 touchdown passes in 2018 to the Heisman Trophy winner who threw 60 in 2019.

“I can’t wait to see him play this year,’’ Spears said of Darnold. “I want him to have a great game, so they know it wasn’t Sam Darnold in totality, what transpired in New York.’’

Another opportunity

Darnold capitalized when he was the second-string quarterback in Pop Warner football and got an opportunity to start. He did the same thing in high school and again at Southern Cal when he got his shot.

Then came the Jets.

“Every time you fail in life, you have to look at it as a lesson,’’ Darnold said.

Darnold doesn’t look at the Panthers so much as a second chance as he does an opportunity to grow from the lessons learned in New York. That’s Rhule’s philosophy as well, reminding he didn’t get the Temple head coaching job the first time he interviewed.

“I always say if I had gotten the head coaching job the first time, I don’t know if I would have been ready the second,’’ he said. “It is about timing, opportunity.’’

Anderson also understands, because he has a similar mindset.

“A chance is like a gamble,’’ he said.

Anderson doesn’t consider Carolina a gamble for him or Darnold. That helps them keep the opener against their former team in perspective.

“Things are what they are,’’ Anderson said. “They fall in line in life where you’re supposed to be at.’’