Final: Packers 27, Panthers 19
The Green Bay Packers built a 17-point lead and then held on to beat the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football at Lambeau Field. Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes, and Green Bay’s defense sacked Bryce Young six times.
The Packers improve to 5-3. The Panthers fall to 3-4.
How it happened
- A shaky start: Green Bay fumbled the opening kickoff, and Carolina took a 3-0 lead on a 39-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald.
- Green Bay takes over: Love hit Tucker Kraft for a 12-yard touchdown, Josh Jacobs ran one in from a yard out, and Love found Matthew Golden for a 24-yard score. The Packers led 20-10 at halftime.
- The lead grows: Jacobs caught a 4-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to make it 27-10. That score pushed him past 10,000 career scrimmage yards.
- Carolina fights back: The Panthers outgained Green Bay 109-32 in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to eight. But Young’s fourth-down pass at midfield fell incomplete, and the Packers closed it out.
Top performers
| Player | Team | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Love | Packers | 30 of 41, 288 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Christian Watson | Packers | 8 catches, 113 yards |
| Matthew Golden | Packers | 7 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD |
| Josh Jacobs | Packers | 21 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 13 yards, 1 TD |
| Bryce Young | Panthers | 23 of 41, 209 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked 6 times |
| Chuba Hubbard | Panthers | 22 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD; 7 catches, 38 yards |
| Tetairoa McMillan | Panthers | 6 catches, 58 yards |
Watson’s scary night, with a happy ending
Christian Watson left in the first half with a chest injury and was taken to a local hospital in an ambulance. He was cleared, came back to the stadium and returned in the second half. Late in the game he made a key 7-yard catch on third-and-2. He finished as Green Bay’s top receiver with 113 yards.
Green Bay’s defense dominated, even without Parsons
Playing without star pass rusher Micah Parsons, the Packers still sacked Young six times and hit him nine times. Rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton had a sack in the final seconds, and Ty’Ron Hopper intercepted Young in the first half. Over its last five games, Green Bay has allowed just 14.6 points per game.
What went wrong for Green Bay
The Packers turned the ball over three times: the opening kickoff fumble, a Watson fumble and a Love interception. Kicker Trey Smack also missed an extra point. Carolina only turned those three takeaways into one field goal.
What’s next
- Packers at Patriots (Week 9)
- Broncos at Panthers (Week 9)
Green Bay stays in the NFC wild-card race, two games behind the 6-0 Vikings in the NFC North. See the full race in our NFL playoff picture and the rest of Week 8 in our schedule.
Sources: NBC Sports / PFT, theScore, Packers.com in-game updates.
