The studs and duds from the Green Bay Packers' 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football" to start Week 8 in the NFL:
Studs
QB Jordan Love: His interception to start the fourth quarter was a poor throw and a poor decision, and he had a second throw that could have been intercepted had it not been knocked down at the line of scrimmage. Both for the better part of three quarters, Love was elite. He played quickly and decisively, finding easy completions, fitting passes into tight windows over the middle and beating any pressure looks from the Panthers.
TE Tucker Kraft: More and more, Kraft is looking like the 2025 version of himself. The YAC plays still are abundant, but he's getting open and making plays as a downfield receiver.
He made a tight window catch on third down for a score and got open on an extended play. A 22-yard catch-and-run was negated by a penalty in the fourth quarter.
EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.: His 22 pass-rushing snaps netted six pressures, including a sack and a quarterback hit. He also had a stop of Chuba Hubbard after a 1-yard gain, and he was in position to end the game on a lateral. On his second quarterback hit, he was a half-second (and a near intentional grounding) away from a sack. Cox consistently won matchups with Rasheed Walker.
LB Ty'Ron Hopper: PFF grades be damned. Did Hopper play at an elite level down to down? Probably not. Did he give up some yardage in coverage? Sure. But Hopper made too many impact plays to not make this list. He deflected a pass into his own interception, had a chase-down sack of Bryce Young and produced multiple other pressures and stops. You can handle some inconsistency when the highs are so high.
EDGE Lukas Van Ness: He had two run stops within the first three plays of the game, defended a pass, stopped Chuba Hubbard on the first play of the second half, sacked Bryce Young on third down, combined with Devonte Wyatt on a tackle for loss against Hubbard and looked comfortable dropping into coverage and making a quick tackle. Van Ness finished with six pressure and five stops in another disruptive all-around performance.
WR Christian Watson: He gets dinged for losing a fumble, but Watson also caught eight of 10 targets and producing a 113-yard receiving night despite playing only 34 snaps sandwiched between a quick hospital visit. His 24-yard catch on third down sparked a touchdown drive. His 53-yard catch on a bomb from Love sparked another touchdown drive. After returning from the hospital, Watson delivered a key 7-yard catch on third down to help kill off a big chunk of the late fourth quarter clock.
LT Jordan Morgan: The Panthers didn't have top edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, making Morgan's life easier, but he took care of business consistently in the passing game. PFF credited him with zero pressures allowed over 43 snaps, and Morgan didn't commit a penalty. He has really settled in as a pass protector over the last month and hasn't committed a penalty since Week 5. The run blocking remains a work in progress, but things are looking up at right tackle.
Duds
LG Aaron Banks: Thursday night was a rough return to the starting lineup for Banks, who gave up four pressures in the passing game and really struggled in the run game. He appeared to be at blame for at least 4-5 run game failures. The Packers will hope he's just shaking off rust. It's possible that Laken Tomlinson is just the better left guard of the two.
DB Javon Bullard: The Packers slot corner missed a tackle, gave up the 26-yard touchdown on fourth down and had an offside penalty. He also lost Tommy Tremble in coverage on a 19-yard completion.
K Trey Smack: Making 3-out-4 extra points just isn't good enough, especially for a kicker who is already struggling. The lost point kept the Panthers in the game longer than needed. Also, his touchback on a kickoff handed the ball to the Panthers at the 35-yard line, and they promptly drove 65 yards for a score.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Studs and duds from Packers' 27-19 win over Panthers in Week 8
