Thursday Night Football presents the Carolina Panthers (4-2) and Green Bay Packers (4-3) on primetime to kickoff Week 8 in the NFL. Both teams are coming off losses, but the L’s came in very different fashion. Green Bay lost a heartbreaker to Detroit, 20-17, and Carolina suffered their worst loss of the season to Tampa Bay, 43-13.
Green Bay welcomed Josh Jacobs back against Detroit, and there was certainly some rust to knock off in the run game trying to find room. Jacobs ran 11 times for 36 yards, but he impacted the pass game with five catches on seven targets for 57 yards and a touchdown. Jacobs scored on a 25-yard catch where he broke multiple tackles and stayed in bounds down the sideline. Whether or not Jacobs is running for 70 or 80 yards a game, Jordan Love needs the threat to run to succeed, especially against zone coverage, which he will see a lot of Thursday (CAR runs 3rd-most).
Love has thrown for at least two touchdowns in six out of seven games and has now thrown 40-plus passes four times. Jonathan Gannon has the Packers defense humming over the last four games with 13.5 points per game allowed, nine sacks, four fumbles recovered, and seven interceptions! Detroit is the only team to score more than 14 points on Green Bay in that span.
On the other side, Carolina’s defense was on the field way too much versus Tampa Bay. The Bucs had the ball for almost 36 minutes of action, scored 43 points, yet only had 322 yards of offense. Carolina’s four turnovers in that game were the reason why. Bryce Young turned the ball over three times (2 INT, 1 FUM) and gift-wrapped 17 points to Tampa Bay. Carolina trailed at the half 33-6, then came out in the third quarter with a punt, an interception, and a turnover on downs in their first three drives of the second half.
The Panthers ran the ball 18 times for 88 yards and a score, but they basically had to abandon the run. Tampa Bay ran for 258 yards, three touchdowns, and 5.3 yards per carry on Carolina; Baker Mayfield only threw the ball 11 times. Carolina has played three low-scoring games on the road this season: at Atlanta, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. This, on paper, is the best offense the Panthers have faced away from Carolina this season.
Let’s dive into the numbers and see if we can’t find an additional sweat or two.
NBC Sports has all the latest info and analysis you need, including how to tune in for kickoff, odds from DraftKings, player news and updates, and of course our predictions and best bets for the game from our staff of experts.
Game details and how to watch Packers vs Panthers
· Date: Thursday, October 29, 2026
· Time: 8:15 PM ET
· Site: Lambeau Field
· City: Green Bay, WI
· TV/Streaming: Prime Video
NBC Sports is your home for all the latest updates on this matchup, featuring live odds, player news, expert analysis, and predictions.
Latest Game Odds for Packers vs Panthers
The latest odds courtesy of DraftKings:
· Moneyline: Green Bay Packers (-185), Carolina Panthers (+154)
· Spread: Packers -3.5 (-112)
· Total: 47.5
The look ahead spread for this game in the preseason was Green Bay -7 with a total of 45.5. As of Sunday night, the spread was Packers -4.5, but Carolina money came in to make this Packers -3.5.
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Expert picks & predictions for Packers vs Panthers
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Under 47.5:
“It’s probably best to wait for the Packers final injury report to bet on this one. The three interior linemen (LG, C, RG) all have injuries, and at least the center, Sean Rhyan, will be out. If two or more linemen are out, I’d expect Green Bay’s rushing attack to be negatively impacted, and the quick pass game will likely become more important. Matthew Golden is questionable, and Josh Jacobs is on a short week. The Packers offense might be in for a tough night. Carolina is in a bounce-back spot, but the Panthers’ defense wasn’t the issue despite allowing 43 points; it was the offense’s inability to move the ball. My early look is the Under 47.5 based on the Packers’ injury report.”
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Packers vs Panthers betting trends and stats
- Green Bay is 4-3 ATS and 5-2 to the Under
- Carolina is 3-3 ATS and 3-3 to the Over
- Green Bay is 2-1 ATS and 2-1 to the Under at home
- Green Bay is 1-2 ATS and 2-1 to the Under as a favorite
- Carolina is 3-0 to the Under and 2-1 ATS on the road
- Carolina is 2-0 to the Over and 1-1 ATS as an underdog
- The Packers are an NFL-best 39-25 ATS at home with LaFleur, or since 2019
- The Packers an NFL-best 31-21 ATS as a home favorite with LaFleur
- The Panthers are 19-14 ATS with Canales, ranking sixth-best since 2024
- The Panthers are 7-8 ATS and 4-11 on the ML as a road underdog with Canales
- Carolina is 7-13 on the ML, 10-10 ATS, and 11-9 to the Under on the road with Canales
- Green Bay is 35-28-1 to the Under at home with LaFleur
- Green Bay is 27-24-1 to the Under as a home favorite with LaFleur
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Quarterback matchup for Packers vs Panthers
· Carolina: Bryce Young – Bryce Young and the Carolina offense had his worst game of the season against Tampa Bay. Young will have to have a short memory on a quick turnaround as Carolina heads to Lambeau to face the Packers on the road. Young tossed a season-high two interceptions, lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, was sacked a season-high five times, and threw for a season-low 163 yards versus Tampa Bay. Young’s three turnovers gifted the Bucs 17 of their 43 points. It was a 33-6 hole before you could even look away. Outside of that game, Young has been terrific and slinging the rock. He had 287 passing yards in the first five games, had an 11:2 TD-to-INT ratio, and completed 60% of his passes.
Young has been at his best in play-action. Young has completed 59.6% of passes off play-action (6th-best), which has helped throw off defenses who want to pressure him. Young ranks 34th in blitzed catchable ball rate (54.5%) and 34th in blitzed completion percentage (49.1%). Whether he is under pressure or being blitzed, Young’s numbers drop sharply and are bottom-10 in the NFL. Green Bay entered last week ranked 11th in blitz rate (31.4%) and 10th in light box rate (47.5%), so I expect Carolina to rely on the run game to set up play action for Young because the Packers will bring heat on a short week.
· Green Bay: Jordan Love – For back-to-back weeks and the fourth time this season, Jordan Love threw at least 40 passes. Love went 27-of-45 for 274 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 20-17 loss to Detroit. The Packers were thrilled to have Josh Jacobs back, but clearly there was rust with 11 carries for 36 yards and a longest rush of 10 yards. He was a far better receiver (5/57/1) in his return than rusher. Green Bay as a unit had 60 rushing yards on 19 attempts (3.2 ypc), so Love has to throw. This has been a theme all year for the Packers, ranking bottom five in almost every rushing metric as they awaited Jacobs’ return. Perhaps Jacobs is used more against Carolina on a short week, and his impact opens more doors in the passing game.
Despite not having a run game, Love ranks eighth in play-action completion percentage (59.6%) and fifth in play-action catchable rate (67.3%), so he really needs the threat of the run game at this point. Carolina’s defense ran the third-most zone coverage (84.6%) entering last week and the fifth-fewest man coverage (10.9%). Love is 15th versus 22nd in passer rating against man compared to zone, but he has far better completion percentage and catchable rate against man than zone. This could be a sneaky tough matchup for Love, as everyone will think Carolina’s defense stinks, but it was the Panthers’ offense that set them up for routine failure in the blowout loss to the Bucs.
Packers vs Panthers Injury Update
- Packers WR Matthew Golden (shoulder/foot) is questionable
- Packers LG Aaron Banks (knee/toe) is questionable
- Packers RG Travis Glover (knee) is questionable
- Packers DE Devonte Wyatt (ankle) is questionable
- Packers DE Anthony Campbell (ankle) is questionable
- Packers LB Brenton Cox Jr. (quad) is questionable
- Packers LB Zaire Franklin (shin) is doubtful
- Packers C Sean Rhyan (ankle) is out
- Panthers LG Damien Lewis (UCL) is questionable
- Panthers LB Jaelan Phillips (hamstring) is questionable
- Panthers LB Akayleb Evans (triceps/knee) is questionable
- Panthers OT Ikem Ekwonu (knee) is out
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