The October portion of the NFL's 2026 regular-season schedule has concluded. Mercifully.
The Green Bay Packers kicked off Week 8 by largely handling the Carolina Panthers 27-19 − the final score not indicative of a generally dominant performance by the Pack − on the Oct. 29 installment of "Thursday Night Football." On the eve of Halloween weekend, the Packers continue to look increasingly monstrous, improving to 5-3 after winning for the fourth time in their past five outings. The Panthers, meanwhile, very much have a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing going on, dropping their second in a row following a 3-2 start and now in danger of losing their hold on first place in the NFC South.
What does it all mean? The winners and losers Thursday could extend well
beyond Lambeau Field:
WINNERS
Jordan Love
The Leader of the Pack threw for a season-high three touchdowns − rifling one to TE Tucker Kraft from 12 yards out in the first quarter and feathering a 24-yarder to WR Matthew Golden shortly before halftime − and has now had multiple TD passes in every game this season save one. Even as Green Bay's offense continues to evolve from a personnel standpoint, Love has maintained a steady hand on the operation − and an accurate one, completing 30 of 41 passes for 288 yards against Carolina.
Josh Jacobs
He's not exactly producing explosive plays, averaging just 1.9 yards on his 27 touches Thursday. Still, in his second game back since coming off the Commissioner’s Exempt List, the Packers' top running back scored two touchdowns − one by land, one by air. Maybe getting a few days off now will help Jacobs begin rounding into his perennial Pro Bowl form in Week 9.
Atlanta Falcons
Beat the Buccaneers in Tampa on Sunday, and the Dirty Birds will be alone atop the NFC South with a 4-4 record.
Milwaukee Brewers
The ultimate winners, the 2026 Brew Crew is the first edition in franchise history to bring a World Series title home to Wisconsin, vanquishing the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Several members of the Brewers celebrated anew Thursday − and in the most appropriate way at Lambeau.
THE CHAMPS ARE IN THE BUILDING 🏆 @Brewers @MLB
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2026
CARvsGB on Prime Video
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/77OsMNZUB1
Christian Watson
Green Bay's fifth-year wideout caught six passes for 100 yards in the first half; suffered a chest injury while hauling in a 53-yard pass in the second quarter; was taken by ambulance to a hospital for examination; returned to Lambeau Field after halftime ... and re-entered the game. That's a night's work − and something of a statement from Watson, whose career has so frequently been stalled by various injuries.
Micah Parsons
As the Pack head into their mini-bye, with a trip to New England on the other side of it, speculation is building that their All-Pro pass rusher, who blew out an Achilles late in the 2025 season, could return to practice next week. And while the Packers aren't going to be whole this season, given all the other injuries they've already endured − not to mention the possibility Jacobs could still be suspended − getting Parsons would surely be quite a lift.
LOSERS
NFC North
The Packers are not only getting their stars back, they're steadily playing better. The Chicago Bears tried to counter from afar on Thursday with their blockbuster acquisition of All-Pro DT Jeffery Simmons. So what do the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions do to try and keep pace, literally and figuratively, in what's shaping up as the league's most hyper-competitive division in 2026?
Rico Dowdle
This matchup really lost some luster when former Panthers RB Rico Dowdle signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason. Dowdle, of course, was instrumental in Carolina's 16-13 win at Lambeau last season, rushing for 130 yards and two TDs ... while channeling Hingle McCringleberry by trying to see how many celebratory pumps he could celebrate his scores with. Turned out two was too many, earning Dowdle both an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a fine from the league.
Rico Dowdle:
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 2, 2025
/stops at two pumps
/gets flagged anyway
(the Panthers missed the ensuing extra point) pic.twitter.com/jrebsbE5Pn
Bryce Young
After a hot start − he was leading the league in passing yards per game not even a week ago − he seems to be in the midst of something of a reversion into the player who struggled so frequently throughout most of his first three NFL seasons. Young connected on 23 of 41 passes for 209 yards on Thursday with one TD pass and one pick − the kind of middling performance that's generally defined his career to date, and the second such kind in five days. He needs to get back to his early season form for this team to be successful ... and if he wants to land the lucrative contract extension he's already in line for.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christian Watson, Jordan Love and surging Packers beat plummeting Panthers: TNF winners, losers
