The Packers beat the Panthers 27-19 at Lambeau Field on Thursday night in the Week 8 opener. ESPN's recap framed it as a Packers win and pointed to the touchdowns. The other four items we have are pregame discussion threads from Yahoo Sports (two), Bleeding Green Nation and Buffalo Rumblings. None of them covers the game itself, so what follows on how it was played comes from our box score.
Green Bay led 6-3 after the first quarter and 20-10 at halftime, then added a touchdown in the third. Carolina outscored the Packers 6-0 in the fourth, which was too little to matter. Jordan Love went 30 of 41 for 288 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception and a 106.6 rating. Christian Watson caught eight passes for 113 yards, including a 53-yarder. Matthew Golden had seven catches and a touchdown on 13 targets, and Tucker Kraft also scored. Josh Jacobs ran 21 times for just 39 yards but scored on the ground and caught a touchdown.
The Packers won the game through the air and on defense. Carolina's Bryce Young was sacked six times for 33 yards and finished 23 of 41 for 209 yards, one touchdown and one interception, a 68.0 rating. The Panthers converted only 5 of 18 third downs, against 9 of 16 for Green Bay, and averaged 3.7 yards per play to the Packers' 5.3. Six different Packers defenders each had a sack, among them Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell and Devonte Wyatt, and Ty'Ron Hopper had the interception. Green Bay was sloppy, with three turnovers to Carolina's two, but went 3 for 3 in the red zone.
The pregame threads list different records because they were written before kickoff. Bleeding Green Nation had Carolina at 3-3 and Green Bay at 4-3, and noted that the Packers lead the all-time series 11-7 and had won three of the previous four meetings. The result moves Green Bay to 5-3 and Carolina to 3-4.
| Team | W | L | PCT | Home | Away | Strk | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 1.000 | 3-0-0 | 3-0-0 | W6 | +51 | |
| 5 | 2 | .714 | 3-1-0 | 2-1-0 | W2 | +37 | |
| 4 | 2 | .667 | 3-0-0 | 1-2-0 | W2 | +19 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 3-1-0 | 2-2-0 | W1 | +7 |
The win only partly helps Green Bay in the standings. The Packers are fourth in the NFC North, two games behind Minnesota, which is 6-0. Chicago is 5-2 and Detroit 4-2, so Green Bay has plenty of clubs to pass. It is also back to winning after a 20-17 loss at Detroit on Oct. 25, following a 23-13 home win over Dallas on Oct. 18.
Carolina's situation is worse in form and better in the table. The Panthers lost 43-13 to Tampa Bay on Oct. 25, a week after a 25-14 win at Philadelphia. They are still first in the NFC South at 3-4, level with Atlanta, with a run differential of minus-15. Both teams play on Sunday, Nov. 8. Carolina hosts Denver, and Green Bay visits New England.
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