It’s crazy to think that Micah Parsons hasn’t even played a snap yet for the Green Bay Packers, because they’re starting to look pretty darn good without him. They beat the Carolina Panthers, 27-13, on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

There were warts. There were issues — particularly in the fourth quarter. But the Packers held on. And it must not feel great that the Packers entered this week as the fourth-ranked team in the NFC North — and the Panthers entered this week first in the NFC South. This helped demonstrate the substantial divide in quality between the two divisions. But there’s no consolation for the Packers, who face a tough schedule to get themselves into the playoffs. 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: thinking about the playoffs.

Here are my takeaways from the Packers' win over the Panthers:

The Packers QB is earning a reputation for the way he throws the deep ball. It’s magic to watch him heave the ball in the direction of Christian Watson. Then Matthew Golden. Then Savion Williams or J. Michael Sturdivant. Whoever, really. Doesn’t matter.

But that might not even be the most impressive part of his game. My favorite element of Love’s game is the way he can beat the beat. It’s a beautiful thing. Against the Panthers’ relentless blitzes, Love finished 15 of 19 for 130 yards and two touchdowns. 

Love is making himself more and more valuable to the Packers with every game — compensating for the lack of rushing efficiency. (More on that later.) This is an important element of an MVP candidacy. You have to face adversity. You have to win a lot of games and make the playoffs — but you also have to overcome severe obstacles. This putrid run game qualifies.

Their decision to throw on third-and-2 for a first down in the fourth quarter spoke to Love’s MVP status, at least for the Packers. (It also spoke to their lack of faith in the run game.)

It should be a tough and tight MVP race this year, from Josh Allen to Joe Burrow to Caleb Williams. But Love has inserted himself into the conversation. He’s going to rack up wins. He’s going to rack up stats. His highlights are going to be absurd.

What’s not to like?

This is the second consecutive week where pressure has rendered Young useless.

We saw in the early season that Young can be an effective pocket passer when given the requisite time to throw. But if you were like me, you saw the Browns game (when he really struggled on third and fourth downs) and you saw a harbinger that things could get bad — in a hurry — for Young. And now they have.

This week, against the blitz, he was 6 of 13 for 68 yards, one touchdown and one interception with a completion percentage over expected of -10.9%. And against pressure, he was 7 of 17 for 41 yards and an interception for 2.4 yards per attempt.

Every QB is bad against pressure. It’s one of the few rules in football that you can count on.

But as I just mentioned in praising Love, the best quarterbacks can beat the blitz. They knew where to go with the ball. They know how to get the ball out of their hands before the blitz arrives. So can Young be one of those QBs? 

For most of the game, he looked totally stumped by what Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon dialed up. There was really only one drive — the touchdown drive to Jalen Coker — where Young showed promise in beating the blitz. And to Young’s credit, he might be contending with the worst left tackle in football, Rasheed Walker. He allowed seven pressures, one sack and took two penalties.

The Panthers have stuck with Young through thick and thin — working toward his development. And they deserve credit for that. But there’s something called the sunk cost fallacy, an irrational tendency to continue an endeavor or relationship after investing time and money — even when it makes more sense to move on. With Young, the Panthers will have to battle that.

But nights like Thursday make me wonder if the Panthers might have a new QB in 2027.

In the first half, Watson caught a 52-yarder, but Panthers cornerback Will Lee landed on the receiver after he went to the ground. They both writhed in pain and headed to the locker room — and Watson eventually left the stadium in an ambulance to check out his chest injury at a local hospital.

His night was over.

Like, totally over.

It had to be, because no one would get back in the game after going to the hospital. This isn’t pro wrestling. Right?

Yes, Watson returned to Lambeau Field in an ambulance. And yes, he got back into the game, where he managed to snag one more catch for six yards.

This defies most things we know about injuries — and ambulance rides. But it also defies what I thought I knew about Watson. He has missed a game in every season since he entered the NFL in 2022. It was the biggest inhibiting factor in him taking a major leap into WR1 status. But here he was, suffering a chest injury (and making a hospital trip) — before returning to the game.

You can question whether this was a smart or sensible idea. 

But you can’t question Watson’s toughness. He’s suddenly an Iron Man.

The Packers get to use their mini bye in preparation for the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium next week. That should be a big one for the folks in New England, where they’ll be celebrating Rob Gronkowski’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction — and Tom Brady’s first return to Foxborough as a broadcaster. Green Bay gets a chance to play spoiler. The Packers can keep building off this performance. Maybe they’ll even figure out how to run the football.

The Panthers will host the Denver Broncos at Bank of America Stadium next weekend. And if the Panthers thought the Packers defense was a tough opponent, they’ll be disappointed to hear that the Broncos have been even better — allowing the seventh-fewest points per game. It’s not exactly a get-right opportunity. The Panthers will have to hope they can hold up better against the blitz. And it seems like it might be a bad moment to take on Denver, with Broncos QB Bo Nix showing signs of improvement after a horrific run of four weeks.