Winners of three straight games, the Green Bay Packers (5-1-1) will return home for the first time since Oct. 12 to take on the Carolina Panthers (4-4) on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The Panthers started 1-3 and then ripped off three straight wins, but the win streak ended in crushing fashion last week at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. And the Panthers have a big injury question mark at quarterback with Bryce Young dealing with an ankle injury.
Can the Packers return home, build off last week’s second half performance in Pittsburgh and play their best football against the Panthers during a noon kickoff at Lambeau Field?
Here’s a closer look at the Panthers entering Week 9:
Last week
The Panthers snapped a three-game winning streak with a 40-9 loss at home to the Buffalo Bills. Without quarterback Bryce Young, the Panthers generated only 244 total yards, allowed seven sacks and turned the ball over three times. Backup Andy Dalton threw an interception and lost two fumbles. Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed only 12 passes, but it didn’t matter because James Cook rushed for 216 yards and two scores. Panthers running backs Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard combined for 88 yards on 20 carries, and rookie Tetairoa McMillan caught seven passes for 99 yards. The Panthers trailed 19-3 at halftime and then gave up 21 straight points in the third quarter. During a week of blowouts, the Bills’ 31-point win was the biggest of Week 8.
Newcomers
First-round pick Tetairoa McMillan leads the team with 37 catches on 63 targets for 512 yards, and he’s first among rookies in catches and targets and second in receiving yards. Rico Dowdle, the former Cowboy, has a team-high 605 rushing yards and 726 yards from scrimmage, with most of the production coming in back-to-back games with over 230 yards from scrimmage. Second-round pick Nic Scourton and third-round pick Princely Umanmielen have combined for 3.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits in rotational roles. Two newcomers on defense — safety Tre’von Moehrig and linebacker Christian Rozeboom — lead the team in stops. Vetersan slot receiver Hunter Renfrow is third in targets with 26, but he has only 89 receiving yards.
Quarterback play
Over his first seven starts, Bryce Young completed 61.6 percent of his passes, averaged 5.8 yards per attempt and 184.4 passing yards per game and had a passer rating of 84.4 — all mediocre to poor numbers. But his status for Sunday is up in the air because of a high ankle sprain that forced him to miss last week’s loss to the Bills. Andy Dalton, who turns 38 years old on Wednesday, has 169 career starts, but he’s started only seven games over the last three seasons, and the Panthers are 1-6 in those games. Last week, Dalton turned the ball over three times and took seven sacks in a blowout loss.
Line of scrimmage
At ESPN, the Panthers rank 31st in pass-rush win rate, 29th in run stop win rate and 24th in pass block win rate, suggesting big struggles along the line of scrimmage. Carolina does rank eighth in run block win rate and second in PFF’s run block grade, so there is a clear strength to the team’s play up front. Tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton and guard Damien Lewis are all good players. An inability to disrupt the passer (29th in pass rushing grade) is killing the Panthers defense. Derrick Brown and A’Shawn Robinson, two interior defenders, are the team’s best pass-rushers right now.
Turnovers
The Panthers are -5 in turnover differential, ranking 26th in the NFL. Carolina’s defense has seven takeaways, including six interceptions, but also 12 giveaways, which is tied for the second most in football. The giveaways are split evenly by fumbles and interceptions — six apiece. Not surprisingly, the Panthers are 1-3 when turning the ball over at least two times and 3-1 when they turn the ball over one or fewer times. Three of Carolina’s takeaways came in a 30-0 win over the Panthers; two others arrived via backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
Injury situation
Last week, the Panthers had only one player with a status designation on the final injury report: quarterback Bryce Young, who was doubtful and ended up not playing. The offensive line suffered several injuries during the loss to the Bills and must be monitored this week. It’s possible Taylor Moton, Cade Mays and Brady Christensen won’t be able to play Sunday. Derrick Brown also went out with a knee injury. Among those on injured reserve are guard Robert Hunt, who led the offense in snaps played last season, and backup guard Chandler Zavala.
Players to know
RB Rico Dowdle: During a two-week stretch to start October, Dowdle produced 389 rushing yards and 473 total yards — highlighting his game-breaking ability. He got only eight touches last week, so expect the Panthers to go out of their way to get him the ball this week.
DL Derrick Brown: The Panthers’ best defensive player. He missed most of the 2024 season but still looks like a dominant interior presence in 2025. Brown can blow up the run game and pressure the quarterback.
WR Tetairoa McMillan: The first-round pick is the go-to player in the Panthers passing game. McMillan is catching only 58.7 percent of his targets, but he’s a downfield threat.
CB Jaycee Horn: The 2021 first-rounder has three interceptions and has allowed a passer rating of only 47.8 into his coverage this season.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers vs. Panthers: 7 things to know about Green Bay’s Week 9 opponent
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
