Hello CSR! Happy game week! I like many of you am reeling from a horrific showing by the Panthers against the Buccaneers on Sunday. BUT! None of that matters now, as we’re on to Green Bay and another prime time tilt for this Panthers squad. They sit at 3-3 and still very much control their own destiny for the 2026 season, though the injury bug continues to haunt them. They’ll be missing several key pieces as they make the trip across the country for this game. Let’s dive right in.
Defense: The stoppable force vs the movable object
I don’t need to
rehash it in too much detail, but the Panthers again found themselves getting run over on Sunday by the Buccaneers ground attack. What appeared to be an aberration of a week 1 destruction on the ground now could be closer to reality, as the Bucs also ran for 300 yards against an admittedly short handed defense. Luckily for the Panthers, they’ll be facing a Packers rushing attack that’s 32nd in every category but touchdowns per game in 2026. Of course, the Packers were missing their start running back Josh Jacobs most of that span, and he’ll be back for his second game of the season this week. He wasn’t a very effective rusher last week as he shakes off the rust, but this is definitely a game where the Panthers rush defense can shake off a horrible loss and bounce back. They do have a bevy of weapons in the passing game, but making them one dimensional should help a bit.
Offense: Get back on schedule
The Panthers offense had an uncharacteristically chaotic game on Sunday, as they turned the ball over on two interceptions and a sack-fumble for a touchdown. Of course, the special teams didn’t help things either, but this was very much a game where the continuous pressure on Bryce Young finally had negative ripple effects for the offense. Bryce Young is having a good year, but when offensive linemen are getting beaten clean in key passing downs consistently, there’s only so much he can do. And that’s where I get to the theme of staying on schedule, and that’s going to start with Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard, to his credit, averaged 4.7 yards per carry on Sunday and caught 4 passes to keep the drives going. But, with the game script finding the Panthers quickly in the hole on the scoreboard, he only ran the ball 7 times. The Packers rush defense is basically in the middle statistically, while their passing defense is top 10 in yards per pass and yards per game. This is very much going to be a game where a balanced attack is going to matter.
Bonus storyline: The special teams cannot be a problem again
The Panthers biggest issues in some of their losses this year has been giving the ball away on routine punt and kick returns. They simply cannot do that against a Packers team that can easily score a play or two later through the air if the momentum shifts on a bad turnover like that. I know they’ve been cycling punt returners all season to try and right the ship, but this needs to be fixed now. I don’t care if the punt returner fair catches it every single time, the turnovers really have hurt this team when its trying to get cooking. And I would expect this Packers team to be looking for revenge after that ugly loss last season against the Panthers.
What are you watching for in this game, Panthers fans?
