Love dices up Panthers. Just a play after his young wide receiver had let him down, Jordan Love went right back to Matthew Golden. Love delivered a splendid pass to Golden for a 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put the Packers up by two scores. After that completion, Love completed 17 of 20 pass attempts in a masterful first half, each of the three incompletions having come via drops. It made no matter, the NFL’s new-age mad bomber continued to dial from long distance all game. Golden battled another case of the drops, Christian Watson was taken to a hospital before stunningly returning to play, but Love continued to lead the way. He chucked an interception on the doorstep of the end zone in the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead. He’s very much a gunslinger of old. And with no running game to speak of, Matt LaFleur kept calling for Love to sling it even with diminishing returns aiding in the Panthers rallying. Love ended his evening with 288 passing yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-41 passing, building a lead big enough for the defense to secure a bounce-back triumph less than a business week after a disenchanting loss to the Lions. On passes of 10 yards or more, Love was 7-of-14 for 154 yards, two TDs and an interception. Into the eighth week of the season, there are few quarterbacks who are more fun to watch throw the deep ball, and on this night it was enough for a needed win.
Panthers can’t handle pressure. In a blowout loss to the Buccaneers just four days prior, Bryce Young was pressured on 51.5% of his dropbacks and sacked five times, despite Tampa Bay blitzing at just a 24.2% clip. It was more of the same carnage for Young on Thursday night. After recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff, the Panthers set up shop at the Green Bay 29-yard line but had to settle for a field goal after Young was sacked by Devonte Wyatt. He was pummeled from the start, the Packers’ defensive excellence exploiting the Panthers’ glaring offensive line Achilles’ heel despite blitzing at just a 29.8% rate — their first time under 30% since Week 5. Young — who’s doing his best to prove in 2026 that he’s worthy of an extension and being anointed as a franchise QB — was pressured on 48.9% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, took nine QB hits and was sacked six times. His performance was commendable, especially considering how he rallied his squad back in the final stanza, throwing a 26-yard score to Jalen Coker to end a 70-yard drive. How long Young can hold up is a concern just as much as the team’s fate in the standings. Playing from behind and unable to get the passing game going for consistent stretches, the Panthers’ running game was similarly stymied. Green Bay had three turnovers, and Carolina had just three points off them. Indeed, Carolina was sunk for a second week in a row by a leaky-at-best O-line.
Familiar woes overcome by Green Bay. Drops, there were a few. Blunders in the kicking game? You bet. An unproductive running game? Yup. Season-long troubles for the Packers continued to plague them Thursday, but Love and a stupendous defensive effort were enough to overcome them — barely. Still, if Green Bay is to return to the playoffs and hopes to break its string of one-and-done cameos (two straight), these are glaring issues it must address in a hurry. Rookie kicker Trey Smack’s tour de struggle continued when he missed his first extra point attempt of the game, clanging it off the left upright. When he was good the next time, the Green Bay crowd roared loudly — and perhaps sarcastically. Smack, who missed two field goals a week ago (one was blocked) wasn’t the only blemish on the kicking game, though. Returner Coleman Owen fumbled away the opening kickoff return and later fielded a punt on a bounce despite being surrounded by Panthers. Matthew Golden had multiple drops and Christian Watson had one in his grasp get away, as well. As for the rushing “attack” that entered the week dead last in yards, the return of Josh Jacobs has done nothing to remedy it. Jacobs had 39 yards on 21 carries — a dismal 1.9 yards per carry — and Green Bay had 66 rushing yards total. Those efforts came versus a Panthers defense that likewise ranked last in rushing. It was a damning reason as to why the game was close in the end, the Packers earning just 6 yards in six carries in the final quarter. Fortunately for Green Bay, it has Love and a defense that was phenomenal. Green Bay allowed just 258 yards on 70 plays from the Panthers with big nights in the stats department from Isaiah McDuffie (10 tackles), Evan Williams (10 tackles), Ty’Ron Hopper (interception, eight tackles, sack, three pass breakups), Lukas Van Ness (six tackles, sack, pass breakup, five QB pressures) and Brenton Cox (fumble recovery, sack, two QB hits, six QB pressures).
Game-changing play in every which way. With the Packers trailing, 10-6, and set up on their own 21, Jordan Love fired his right-armed cannon on a ball that traveled 58.2 air yards, per Next Gen Stats. Christian Watson tracked it down in splendid fashion and when he came down on Lambeau Field, the game changed thereafter. Watson and Panthers cornerback Will Lee III remained down on the field. Lee, one of just three active Carolina cornerbacks, was carted off to the locker room with a hamstring injury. Watson walked off under his own power before he was transported in an ambulance for precautionary reasons to a hospital with what was termed a chest injury. Meanwhile, a further depleted Panthers defense let a precarious four-point lead draft away. Five plays later, Josh Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run and the Packers were off on a 21-point run. It was an amazing play by Love and Watson, who had 100 yards on the nose after the grab on six first-half catches. It also hindered the Packers and Panthers with the injury losses. Watson (eight receptions for 113 yards) cleared all tests, returned to Lambeau and then stunningly returned to the game, emerging from an ambulance in full pads (no helmet) and soon after running out to a hearty cheer from the Packers backers. For all that was packed into that one play, it ultimately proved to be a massive turning point.
Two very different NFC divisions. It’s very likely the NFC South champion will be the only playoff-bound team from the division. It’s in the same neighborhood of probability that the NFC North will send at least two squads to the postseason dance — possibly more. With Thursday’s loss, the Panthers — reigning division champions — fell to 3-4, guaranteeing that there will be zero teams from their division at .500 or better after Week 8. Still, Carolina will be no worse than second place on Monday. The NFC North, on the other end of the spectrum, is guaranteed to have four winning teams when Monday comes after the Packers improved to 5-3 — good for last place currently in the division. Green Bay needed this result more than Carolina and appears to be headed in the right direction with Micah Parsons hopefully getting back soon. But the NFC North portends to be a four-team donnybrook for the duration, while the NFC South is very much looking like it will have one team — probably the No. 4 seed and perhaps holding a losing record — entering the playoffs.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Panthers-Packers (via NFL Pro): Jordan Love completed 23 of 25 passes thrown in under 2.5 seconds for 177 yards and two touchdowns, the most quick completions by any quarterback in a game this year and the most of Love’s career

NFL Research: Green Bay’s six sacks were a season high and its most since losing Micah Parsons to a knee injury last season. The last time the Packers had six sacks was Week 7, 2025, with Parsons racking up three of them.