The Carolina Panthers defense suffocated the Packers offense in the red zone and their rookie kicker played the role of hero again.
First Quarter
Chandler Zavala marked his return to the lineup the best way he knows
how—by committing a false start before the Panthers could get their first snap off. That put the offense behind the sticks, but they were still almost able to pick up the first down. Dave Canales left the offense on the field for a 4th and 1 in their own territory, and Jimmy Horn picked up the first on an end around. However, it was called back for a Tommy Tremble hold which to be fair probably was the only reason Horn was able to get the edge.
Green Bay took over after the punt and methodically marched down the field. They pushed into Carolina territory before a turnover ended the drive. Nick Scott took on a blocker on a bubble screen to create some traffic. While Savion Williams was trying to navigate the junk, Christian Rozeboom and company came in from the middle of the field and knocked the ball out. Scott was able to corral it on the ground.
The first quarter ended with the Panthers on a long drive into Packers territory. A first down completion to Tetairoa McMillan and a Bryce Young scramble for a first on fourth down got the drive going. Young took a shot on the scramble as he basically slowed down to a walk before he went out of bounds, which opened him up to a big hit.
Second Quarter
A heavy dose of Rico Dowdle and another nice run from Jimmy Horn (that counted) got the Panthers into field goal range. Young took a shot to the end zone for Xavier Legette on third down, but he badly missed the target and was picked off by Xavier McKinney.
Jordan Love took two deep shots on the Packers ensuing drive, and the second one connected with Christian Watson. That got the Packers threatening to score the game’s first point, but they did their best to not make that happen. They botched a snap on 2nd and medium then committed a false start. Tershawn Wharton sacked Love on the actual second down play, then Emmanuel Wilson dropped a screen pass on 3rd and very long. Brandon McManus finally knocked in the field goal for the game’s first points.
Rico Dowdle ripped off a 29 yard run off the right side to open the next drive to get the Panthers moving, though Dowdle had to leave the game for a bit. A nice intermediate throw between the levels of the defense from Young to Legette got the Panthers into the red zone, and this time Legette had to leave after taking a shot to the head. Another fourth down conversion, this time with a Rico Dowdle run, set the Panthers up inside the ten. Dowdle got the ball a couple plays later and punched it in to put the Panthers up 7-3 just outside the two minute warning.
For some reason, the Packers seemed to prioritize bleeding clock instead of gaining yards to start the last drive of the first half. They called several run plays in a row, two which resulted in holding penalties on linemen trying to block Derrick Brown. Eventually Love took to the air, and he threaded the needle to Romeo Doubs to finally get the drive moving. A couple of short completions took the Packers inside the ten, but the defense was able to disrupt Love and the short passing game there. They forced the offense into a 4th and 6 with five seconds left, and Matt LaFleur settled for a field goal. The Panthers went into the locker room with a surprising 7-6 lead.
Third Quarter
The Packers got the ball to start the second half and went back to Josh Jacobs and the ground game. That did enough to get into Panthers territory with one particular run off right tackle getting most of the yards. During all of that, Packers star tight end had to get carted off with a leg injury when he was hit by Nic Scourton and a Packers offensive lineman that he had submarined. Eventually the Packers went to the air, but they kept the passes short. The Panthers were able to get some pressure and swarmed to the ball on a third down screen to force another field goal attempt. Brandon McManus hooked it wide left.
The ensuing Panthers drive almost started with a disaster when Young’s swing pass to Dowdle was a bit high and went off the back’s hands. It was originally ruled a backwards pass and lost about 20 yards, but replay assist fortunately deemed that the ball was going forward and changed it to an incomplete pass. Dowdle carried the Panthers towards midfield, but the drive ended there when Legette fell on a quick out on third down.
Trevin Wallace came through unblocked on second down, forcing Love to throw the ball to nowhere. He wasn’t called for intentional grounding, which made the following third down manageable enough for Green Bay to pick up despite Doubs almost dropping the ball. No harm though. On the next play, Love chucked a deep ball into what turned into triple coverage. It wasn’t even close to the receiver, and Tre’von Moehrig was able to field it like a punt and run it back into Green Bay territory. Some more touches for a wounded Dowdle carried the Panthers deeper towards the end zone. He briefly left, and while he was out, a pass interference on a ball thrown to Legette set the Panthers up on the one yard line. Dowdle reentered the game just in time to punch in his second touchdown of the game. He was flagged for a two-pump celebration even though he didn’t do the third pump. That flag backed up the extra point, which Ryan Fitzgerald missed short and right.
Love caught the Panthers trying to substitute with a quick snap and found Doubs wide open down the sideline to cross midfield and bring the third quarter to a close.
Fourth Quarter
A few more modest Packers gains set up the real drama. They tried a screen pass on 3rd and 3, and it was blown up by Moehrig to set up a 4th and 8. LaFleur elected to leave his offense on the field anyway. Derrick Brown broke through the line and forced Love to retreat. He was joined by a couple of other linemen. Love ran around and gave himself enough space to heave the ball across the field. No one was there except for Mike Jackson, who seemingly got too excited by all the green grass in front of him and bobbled the interception away. It was still a turnover on downs.
A pretty blatant illegal formation negated a 21 yard Dowdle run to open the Panthers next drive. A false start by Ikem Ekwonu moved the offense back even more, and that resulted in a quick end to what could have been a game clinching drive.
Love found Luke Musgrave for a big gain and then hit several quick passes to get the Packers rolling again. They effortlessly moved into the red zone, which is where they had been getting stuck all day. The red zone defense finally cracked this time. Josh Jacobs pounded at the line a couple of times inside the five. He was originally ruled short on the third down carry, but a review deemed that he just barely broke the plane for a game tying touchdown with two-and-a-half minutes to play.
The drive started with an ineffective carry by Dowdle, but Young got it moving after that. A couple of intermediate completions to Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan got the Panthers out towards midfield, then Dowdle broke through the second level to put the Panthers on the precipice of field goal range. They settled there, which put the rookie Fitzgerald out for a 49 yard potential game winner. He drilled it.
Overall Outlook
The Panthers really did it. This is the signature win of the Dave Canales era. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Panthers managed the game perfectly and gave themselves a chance to pull out the win late. The offense reverted to the Rico Dowdle show, but that was good enough. The defense bounced back after a brutal showing against the Bills. Derrick Brown was wrecking the Packers offensive line all game long, and that caused just enough discomfort for Love on the deep passing game. The red zone defense was superb. They held the Packers to just one touchdown on five trips inside the 25 yard line.
What a game. The Panthers come home to host the beleaguered Saints next week.
