GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will be back on Thursday Night Football when they host the Carolina Panthers. It couldn’t possibly go worse than when they lost to the Falcons 35-14 on Thursday night last month.

“Yeah, I should change everything, huh?” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon sort-of joked on Wednesday, “because we laid an egg – me I’m talking about. I hold that to ourselves. I think Matt (LaFleur) made some tweaks, which I really liked. I think it’s going to help our guys. We’ll see, the proof will be in the pudding.”

The Packers need to find a victory in the pudding against Carolina. Green Bay is in last place in the NFC North and holds a tenuous grip on the final spot in the NFC. Obviously, it’s early to be overly concerned about the playoff race, but the division race is in danger of getting away from them before the calendar flips to November.

Will the Packers win? Here are our weekly predictions.

Bill Huber’s Packers-Panthers Prediction

The Packers and Panthers are two of the most beat-up teams in the NFL, a fact complicated by playing on a Thursday. The injuries are probably one reason why these also are among the most inconsistent teams in the league.

It seems like the Packers have a lot of injuries. But is that true?

Here's some good injury data shared by @RotoWire. ⬇️https://t.co/Mp2IlrCeZW

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 29, 2026

The Packers can’t get out of their own way on offense, which is why they’ve scored 20 or fewer points in four of seven games. They scored only 17 points last week against the Lions, who have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Detroit entered the game on pace to blow away the dubious league record for passing yards allowed. Jordan Love and Co. failed miserably to capitalize, especially in key moments.

The Panthers are no better. Remember Green Bay’s loss to Atlanta at Lambeau? That came just days after Carolina went into Atlanta and won by 31. The Panthers had won three of their last four games until getting steamrolled 43-13 by the Buccaneers.

So, which team(s) will show up tonight?

So, let’s bring it back to injuries. The Panthers’ starting cornerbacks, Mike Jackson and Jaycee Horn, are on injured reserve. Their best pass rusher, Jaelan Phillips, will be inactive due to injury. So, there should be opportunities for the Packers to make plays in the passing game. Combined with a matchup against the worst run defense in the NFL, this could be a breakout game for Green Bay’s offense.

“Should be,” of course, is the operative phrase. The only thing the Packers do consistently is play inconsistently. They can’t run the football. They struggle to protect the passer. They drop passes. They misfire on third down and squander opportunities in the red zone.

So, should the Packers have a big game offensively? Yes. But will they?

At least the defense is good, with Gannon earning his paycheck by fielding a formidable unit that has mostly played winning football even though it can’t rush the passer with a traditional four-man rush.

So, who wins? I’d give the advantages to Green Bay on both sides of the ball.

On offense, Love should have a strong game against Carolina’s depleted pass defense. Heck, they might even be able to run the football against the league’s worst rush defense.

On defense, the Packers have spoken highly of Panthers quarterback Bryce Young all week, but Young is not as good as Detroit’s Jared Goff and the Panthers have only one big-time threat in the passing game compared to two for Detroit. The Panthers will be without their preferred starting offensive tackles, too.

So, the Packers will score a key win. A 5-3 start with Micah Parsons still not back on the practice field would be a major victory for a team that has aspirations to be playing deep into January.

Bill’s Prediction: Packers 27, Panthers 17.

Bill’s Record: 5-2.

Here are the 10 most important Packers for tonight's game, a story filled with quotes and other good stuff by @JacobWestendorf. ⬇️https://t.co/tX2pc7MrfW

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 29, 2026

Jacob Westendorf’s Packers-Panthers Prediction

I don't think this game is going to be pretty. Matt LaFleur said earlier this week that Panthers coordinator Ejiro Evero's defense forces everyone on offense to be consistent on every single play. The Packers have not been like that all season. 

The injuries on the offensive line make for some uncertainty, and give this coaching staff a chance to screw up the starting five combination, like they have so many times in the past. 

That being said, Carolina is missing some big guns on defense, including their star pass rusher. Even if Matthew Golden cannot go or is on limited reps, Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft should be able to make enough plays in the passing game. Perhaps Josh Jacobs can finally find some room to roam on the ground against the league's worst run defense. 

Expect a sloppy game, but the Packers will make one more play than the Panthers, getting them to 5-3 before a much-needed mini bye week. 

Jacob’s Prediction: Packers 17, Panthers 14.

Jacob’s Record: 4-3.

The Packers will face a "big-time challenge" tonight against the Panthers.

Here's what the coordinators had to say about the matchup.https://t.co/Ln6VqYVSMP

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 29, 2026