The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Packers’ Win Over The Panthers
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Green Bay wideout Christian Watson had a wild night in which he dominated early, went to a local hospital to be checked for a chest injury, then returned late in the game.
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Getty ImagesThe World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers — just chew on that for a minute — brought their championship trophy to Lambeau Field Thursday night.
Less than 24 hours after defeating Tampa Bay in five games and winning the first World Series title in franchise history, the Brewers showed off their new hardware to the Green Bay faithful. Several players did Lambeau leaps. And through it all, the crowd went berserk for their baseball heroes.
The Green Bay Packers haven’t looked anything like a championship team in 2026, but maybe they got some good vibes from this epic Brewers team. Either that, or they benefitted from playing a dreadful Carolina squad.
Quarterback Jordan Love had a big night, the Packers’ defense came up big when it had to and Green Bay posted a 27-19 win.
The Packers improved to 5-3, but remained in fourth place in the ultra-competitive NFC North. The Panthers fell to 3-4 and are tied for first place in the horrendous NFC South.
THE GOOD
JORDAN LOVE: The Packers’ quarterback is playing with the worst running back in football. His offensive line has been atrocious. And his pass catchers lead the NFL in drops.
But Love just keeps soldiering on and should be a top-five candidate for MVP as the midway point of the season nears.
Love threw three touchdown passes for the first time this season, completed 30 of 41 passes for 288 yards and posted a 106.6 rating.
If the Packers were playing with a mediocre quarterback, they’d probably be under .500. But Love now has 16 touchdowns through eight games, just six interceptions, and is the biggest reason Green Bay is two games above .500.
CHRISTIAN WATSON: The Packers’ star wideout had six receptions for 100 yards in the first 21 minutes of the game. Watson then suffered a chest injury while hauling in a 53-yard pass from Love with 9:11 left in the second quarter, and was then taken to a local hospital for precautionary testing.
Amazingly, about 90 minutes after exiting the stadium and getting a clean bill of health, Watson returned to Lambeau Field and raced back into the huddle.
Watson’s seven yard reception on third-and-2 with just more than 2 minutes left largely ended the game. Watson finished the night with eight catches for 113 yards.
HOPPER SHINES: Green Bay third-year linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper is showing why the Packers used a third round draft pick on him in 2024.
Late in the second quarter, Hopper deflected a Bryce Young pass, then caught it himself for his second interception of the season. Hopper also chased Young down early in the third quarter and dumped him for sack, and he hit Young’s arm leading to an incompletion that killed the Panthers’ second drive.
Hopper finished the night eight tackles, three passes defensed and two quarterback hits.
“Since I’ve been here, I think he’s continued to ascend in all facets of playing the linebacker position,” Green Bay defensive coordinator Jonthan Gannon said of Hopper. “He’s done really good things. Like, he’s in the right places.”
GAME CHANGER: The Panthers trailed, 20-10, at halftime, then opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 49 on their opening drive of the third quarter.
Green Bay rookie defensive lineman Chris McClellan and safety Evan Williams stuffed Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard for one yard and the Packers took over at midfield. From there, the Packers needed just eight plays to march 50 yards and Love’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jacobs gave Green Bay a 27-10 lead.
UNDER PRESSURE: Carolina’s offensive line is one of the worst in football, and the Packers took full advantage.
Green Bay picked on old teammate, left tackle Rasheed Walker, all night. The Packers brought pressure from multiple spots and had the Panthers on their heels throughout.
Green Bay finished with six sacks as defensive ends Lukas Van Ness, Brenton Cox, Barryn Sorrell and Dani Dennis-Sutton, along with both Wyatt and Hopper all had sacks.
“I think we’ve done some really good things and I think we can always be better in everything that we’re doing,” Gannon said of Green Bay’s pass rush.
THIS AND THAT: Safety Evan Williams and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie tied for a team-high 10 tackles. … McDuffie tipped away a pass on a Carolina two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. … Green Bay’s Coleman Owen fumbled away the opening kickoff and the Panthers started their first drive at the Packers’ 29-yard line. Carolina quickly moved to the Packers’ 15, but on third-and-8, Wyatt had a big sack limiting the Panthers to a field goal. … Bo Melton made a terrific tackle and limited Carolina return man Trevor Etienne to a 1-yard return on the Packers’ first punt of the night.
THE BAD
NOWHERE TO RUN: Green Bay’s rushing offense against Carolina’s rushing defense was bad vs. bad.
Or really, miserable vs. miserable.
The Packers entered Thursday averaging 59.9 rushing yards per game, the lowest number in the Super Bowl era. Carolina had the NFL’s worst rushing defense at 153.2 yards per game.
Despite seeing such a horrendous rushing defense, the Packers managed just 66 rushing yards on 26 carries (2.5). Take out an 18-yard run by Savion Williams on a reverse, and those numbers dropped to 48 rushing yards on 25 carries (1.9).
TOUGH SLEDDING: The Packers have a respectable 5-3 record and a solid .625 winning percentage.
But playing in the NFL’s best division — the NFC North — means Green Bay is in last place and is currently the conference’s No. 7 seed.
Minnesota (6-0) is the NFL’s last undefeated team. Chicago (5-2) is playing as well as any team in football since the return of quarterback Caleb Williams. And Detroit (4-2) has a lights-out offense and defeated the Packers, 20-17, in Week 7.
In all, the NFC North is 20-7, a ridiculous winning percentage of .778.
BRUTAL START: Green Bay opened with the ball, but rookie return man Coleman Owen fumbled the opening kickoff and Carolina’s Nick Hampton recovered. For a Green Bay team that needed a fast start, this type of beginning was nightmarish.
THIS AND THAT: Savion Williams was flagged for holding to slow down a Green Bay drive late in the third quarter. … Love threw a bad interception early in the fourth on a third-and-8 play from Carolina’s 27. … Anthony Belton was flagged for being downfield illegally to wipe out a 21-yard completion to tight end Tucker Kraft late in the game. … Love was called for intentional grounding with 4:45 left, knocking the Packers back to their own 12-yard line.
THE UGLY
SMACK DOWN: Trey Smack remains the Packers’ kicker. But can Green Bay really keep rolling with the broken rookie during the second half of the season?
Smack, who has more misses and the lowest kicking percentage in football, added the latest chapter to his miserable rookie season Thursday. Smack’s first extra point was a low, line drive that barely got over Carolina’s defensive line, then plunked off the left upright.
Smack made his next three extra points, but is now 11-of-16 on field goals (68.8%) and 16-of-19 on extra points (84.2%). Smack’s eight misses are the most in football, and his percentage on all kicks (77.1%) is also the NFL’s worst.
If Green Bay truly fancies itself a championship contender, it can’t stay married t the NFL’s worst kicker.
“You’re going to have some ups and downs, but understand what got you here, what gets you to the point, you know?” Packers special teams coach Cam Achord said of Smack. “And it’s doing that process over and over, and that’s where you build the confidence — is what you’ve done in the past to get you get you to where you are today.
“And that’s what you have to have conversations about. And again, a lot of people want to talk about the negatives and all that, which is fair. It’s very fair. There’s no bones about that, but we’ve got to go back to the process that got us here.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com