The Green Bay Packers dropped to last place in the NFC North with a mistake-laden 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

They have very little time to lick their wounds thanks to another home date on Thursday night, this one against the Carolina Panthers, who beat the Packers at Lambeau last season.

The Packers had their three-game winning streak snapped by Detroit and are 4-3. The Panthers are 3-3 and lead the NFC South. They are coming off a 43-13 loss to Tampa Bay.

Both teams need a win. How do they get it? Here’s our look at the weekly matchups.

Panthers Pass Offense vs. Packers Pass Defense

Carolina’s passing offense is a bit of a one-man band. Tetairoa McMillan leads the team in targets, receptions and yards. He’s 11th in the league with 511 yards even while playing one fewer game than most teams. He’s second on the team in touchdowns behind field-stretching tight end Darren Waller.

McMillan caught just four passes for 46 yards last year against Green Bay, but was one of the top rookie receivers in football as he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. The one blemish on his season is that while he’s only dropped one pass, he’s fumbled twice.

Carolina’s passing game starts with Bryce Young, who has been solid if unspectacular this season. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns to just four picks but has been sacked 17 times. He ranks 14th in the league in passer rating.

According to Next Gen Stats, old friend Rasheed Walker leads the Panthers in giving up 34 pressures and four sacks. He allowed three sacks against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

The Packers could have potential for a bounce-back game. Their pass rush was largely nonexistent against the Lions’ Jared Goff, and their coverage suffered as a result.

The combo of Young and McMillan, however, is not exactly the Lions’ offense on turf against Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta. The Packers should have a good chance to control the passing game.

Advantage: Packers.

Panthers Rush Offense vs Packers Run Defense

Jonathan Gannon probably would have signed up for giving up just 119 yards on 29 carries to Jahmyr Gibbs in Sunday’s game against the Lions.

The Packers have done a good job at controlling opposing ground games save for one disastrous performance against Bijan Robinson on a Thursday night against Atlanta. They’re ranked 17th in the NFL with 115 rushing yards allowed per game.

The Panthers are 21st in yards gained per game on the ground. The question in this matchup will be the health and availability of Green Bay’s defensive line. Anthony Campbell and Devonte Wyatt were estimated non-participants in practice. The Packers got a boost to their depth last week with Jordan Riley returning from last year’s Achilles injury, but are starting to run thin on healthy bodies up front.

Advantage: Push.

Panthers Pass Defense vs Packers Passing Offense

As poor as Carolina has been in some games against opposing offenses, its pass defense is pretty good. It ranks sixth in the NFL with just 195.7 passing yards allowed per game and eighth with an opponent passer rating of 83.9.

The defensive backs have yet to get their hands on an interception, as its leading man in that department is linebacker Devin Lloyd with two.

One potential game-changing dynamic this week in this matchup will be the availability, or lack thereof, for the Panthers’ star rusher, Jaelen Phillips. Phillips wrecked the game against Green Bay last year when he was playing for the Eagles. According to PFF, Phillips had eight pressures and two quarterback hits as the Eagles held Jordan Love and Co. to just 10 points. He has 2.5 sacks in five games this season.

Last week, the Packers piled up yards but could not find their way into the red zone. Their offense inside the red area was putrid, going 1-of-4, which included a failed fourth down and a missed chip-shot field goal by Trey Smack.

The drops are becoming obscene. Matt LaFleur can continue to say that it’s just football and those things happen. He’s right to some degree, but they need to find a solution. Matthew Golden, Bo Melton and Josh Jacobs were culprits last week. All three cost them big plays, including a potential game-winning score from Jacobs.

There will be some shuffling on the offensive line. The question is how much? John Williams played most of last week’s game at Detroit after starter Sean Rhyan suffered a high-ankle sprain and backup Jacob Monk sustained an injured quad. Rhyan will miss at least a few weeks and Monk is on injured reserve. Presumably, Williams will start, but don’t discount the possibility of Jager Burton getting the call.

Right guard Travis Glover is on the injury report with a knee injury. Left guard Aaron Banks, the former starter, was active last week but sat on the bench in favor of Laken Tomlinson.

Regardless, they need to protect Jordan Love better than they have the last two weeks against Ejiro Evero’s defense.

The potential for big plays always makes the Packers a threat, but the lack of consistency pushes this matchup to a draw.

Advantage: Push

Panthers Rush Defense vs. Green Bay’s Rush Offense

As it turns out, Josh Jacobs was not enough to save the Packers’ run game from the depths of hell it continues to descend into.

The Packers remain 32nd in the league in rushing, with their 59.9-yard average right in line with the 60 yards gained against the Lions.

Perhaps some good news is on the way? The Panthers have the worst rush defense in the league, giving up a league-worst 153.2 rushing yards per game and a league-high 5.16 yards per carry. They also lead the league in rushing touchdowns surrendered with 11.

“Just be quicker,” Jacobs said on Tuesday. “Just stuff that come with playing ball. I would also say just keep try to encourage the guys and make the O-line right when it’s opportunities. That’s the only thing I would’ve been preaching really this whole week, just telling guys to finish straight up on guys and allow me to be me and allow me to make them right, so just trying to have that trust.

“Obviously, this week we have a different group of guys up there, so it’s going to be a feel-out process. But we’ll see how it goes.”

The Panthers were clobbered by Chicago in Week 1, when D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai ran for more than 100 yards. Quarterback Caleb Williams added another 65. Overall, Chicago carried 39 times for 291 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry.

Sunday’s blowout loss against Tampa Bay was pretty similar. The Bucs averaged 5.3 yards per carry, piling up 258 yards on 49 attempts.

The Packers’ run game should have some opportunities this week, but you don’t have to look that far into the past to see another game where they should have had chances to get moving. Dallas was the worst run defense in the NFL when it came to Lambeau a couple weeks ago, and the Packers’ leading rusher had 28 yards.

Maybe Jacobs changes things this week as he’s more acclimated, but until there’s any improvement that is seen on the field, it’s impossible to give the Packers the benefit of the doubt.

Advantage: Panthers.

Special Teams

One of the biggest reasons the Panthers were able to knock off the Packers at Lambeau Field last year was Brandon McManus missing a field goal.

McManus’ struggles last season culminated with a disastrous performance in the postseason. As a result, the Packers traded two draft choices to grab Trey Smack in the sixth round.

Smack has shown off a big leg. He’s 2-for-2 on kicks more than 50 yards this season. The problems have been for the more makeable field goals. Smack is 5-of-9 on kicks between 30 and 49 yards. He’s also missed two extra-point attempts. In the three-point loss to Detroit, he missed a 26-yard field goal and had a 35-yarder tipped at the line for another miss.

This is the rollercoaster ride the Packers chose to get on when they gave a rookie kicker unlimited runway, like they did with Anders Carlson during the 2023 season. That year, predictably, ended in disaster with Carlson missing a key field goal in the team’s postseason loss to the 49ers.

We’re a long way away from Smack deciding a playoff game, should the Packers even qualify.

For now, however, he’s the single biggest reason that special teams goes in the direction of whoever Green Bay is playing.

One strange but true stat: Panthers kicker Ryan Fitzgerald has been a perfect 11-of-11 on field goals this season but he’s missed five extra points. While that’s odd, the inconsistency of Smack in all parts of the field along with the Panthers’ strength on punt return and kickoff-return coverage, gives the nod to Carolina.

Advantage: Panthers.

Playoffs?!? (in Jim Mora voice)

Here are the latest standings and probabilities for the Packers.https://t.co/Iwd2GQrfmU

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 27, 2026