Packers vs. Panthers: Love Targets Injured Secondary — SkimNews
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- Green Bay Packers host the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football, Oct. 29 at 8:20 p.m. ET at Lambeau Field, streaming on Amazon Prime, with DraftKings odds at Packers -3/5 and a 47.5-point total.
- Bryce Young completed 14 of 27 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and fumbled once as Carolina posted its worst offensive performance of the season: 266 yards, 15 first downs, 13 points and four turnovers.
- Jordan Love attacks throws at a 9.1-yard average depth of throw, fourth-highest in the NFL, and ranks third among 33 qualified quarterbacks in rate of 16-plus-yard gains, though his 59.8% completion rate comes with a league-high 21 drops; Carolina edge rusher Jaelan Phillips is out for the game.
- Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson remain on injured reserve and Akayleb Evans is out Thursday, leaving rookie Will Lee III, practice squad call-up Marco Wilson and possibly Chau Smith-Wade to cover Christian Watson and Matthew Golden.
- Josh Jacobs returned to the lineup last week with 11 carries for 36 yards in a Packers ground game averaging 2.9 yards per carry, last in the league, while Carolina's run defense is also last at 5.2 yards per carry after Tampa Bay's 258-yard rushing performance; Chuba Hubbard's 4.8 yards per carry meets a Packers D allowing just 3.9.
- Micah Parsons remains sidelined with Green Bay's pressure rate below average, yet the Packers rank eighth in net passing yards per attempt, have allowed nine touchdown passes against nine interceptions and have not surrendered more than 296 net passing yards in a game — against Carson Wentz, Geno Smith and Michael Penix Jr. before Dak Prescott and Jared Goff arrived in the last two weeks.
- Green Bay is picked to win 24-17, with the forecast resting on explosive passing plays rather than a repeat of Tampa Bay's 258-yard ground assault, as Watson and Golden are expected to find space behind Carolina's depleted cornerback group.
Why it matters: Carolina's 3/5-point underdog status rests on depth it doesn't have: Horn and Jackson are on injured reserve and Evans is out Thursday, leaving Wilson and Smith-Wade to handle Watson and Golden on Love's 9.1-yard average depth of throw, while Moton's absence compounds a run defense already last at 5.2 yards per carry.
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