A battle of big cats closes out the Week 4 Sunday schedule when the Detroit Lions travel to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers.
Detroit is coming off a win over the New York Jets, and while that might not sound like an impossible task, it's how they won that was a bit eyebrow-raising: the Lions held on until a last possession strip-sack sealed the victory and ended New York's storming comeback bid.
The Lions defense gave up 24 points to an undermanned Jets unit, further signaling issues on the back end, potentially making the unit ripe for the picking against an upstart Panthers offense.
Which team will roar their way to way to a win on Sunday night? USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights, analysis and more for the Week
4 "Sunday Night Football" matchup below. All times are Eastern.
How to watch Panthers vs Lions on Sunday Night Football
- TV channel: NBC
- Live stream: Fubo | Peacock
NBC is the broadcast home of "Sunday Night Football." Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth will be on the call.
Watch "Sunday Night Football" with Fubo (free trial)
Lions vs Panthers preview
Will the real Detroit Lions please stand up?
The team's offense has scored with the best of them, but defensively, Detroit has been just a few steps short of a disaster. Some of that is injuries, some of that is inconsistency: Still the Lions have pushed to 2-1 on the season after a heart attack vs. the Jets in Week 3.
Speaking of inconsistency, there's no passer in the quarterback more familiar with that concept than Bryce Young. Young started the season with back-to-back three touchdown performances before coming back down to earth in Week 4.
Both teams, though, are mirror images of one another: Both have exhibited excellent offenses with questionable stop units. That could make for a Sunday night shootout to end the heavy slate of Week 4.
Lions vs Panthers live updates
NFL Week 4 schedule
04:15 PM ET, October 4 2026, Joe RiveraThursday, Oct. 1
- Cleveland Browns 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Sunday, Oct. 4
- Indianapolis Colts 30, Washington Commanders 13 (London)
- Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- New York Jets at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings, 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
Sunday Night Football
- Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Monday, Oct. 5
Monday Night Football
- Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Lions vs Panthers predictions
04:00 PM ET, October 4 2026, Joe RiveraHere's how USA TODAY Sports' expert NFL panel thinks the "SNF" matchup will go:
- Jarrett Bell: Detroit Lions 34, Carolina Panthers 30
- Nick Brinkerhoff: Carolina Panthers 33, Detroit Lions 30
- Chris Bumbaca: Detroit Lions 38, Carolina Panthers 31
- Nate Davis: Detroit Lions 30, Carolina Panthers 27
- Adam Kaufman: Detroit Lions 30, Carolina Panthers 27
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Detroit Lions 34, Carolina Panthers 20
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lions vs Panthers live updates, preview, TV info, how to watch
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