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The Green Bay Packers need a win on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
That’s a bit of an understatement.
They’re 4-3 after dropping Sunday’s game in Detroit to the Lions. They’re the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs. That does not matter that much at present, but what does matter is how they position themselves as the season turns to the colder months of the year.
Each loss puts them further behind the 8-ball. A loss against Carolina could put them four games behind Minnesota in the loss column in the NFC North if the Vikings were to knock off the Lions on Sunday.
The Packers have to start stacking wins together if they have aspirations of winning the NFC North and securing a high seed in the NFC playoffs.
Who are the most important players to knocking off the Panthers? We have them for you here.
Brandon Cisse is made of the right stuff, or so his coaching staff says. Last week, Cisse had his second career interception taken away from him due to a pass interference call that could have been considered questionable based on how the game had been officiated to that point.
During the same series, Cisse did not sulk, but saved a touchdown in a different way. He had a pass breakup in the end zone on third down before shoving Jameson Williams out of bounds in the end zone on fourth down.
Such play is hard to find from a rookie.
This week, he’ll move to his next challenge against Carolina’s top receiver, Tetairoa McMillan.
“I think he’s an elite wideout,” Cisse said. “Obviously, really big hands, really great hands. Smooth route runner. Everything looks the same. I think he’s a big challenge for us. He’s really competitive at the catch point. I think he’s a great player.
“I think the same thing with (Jalen) Coker. They’re big guys who can run. They’re really twitched up at the top of the route and they’ve got great hands and they’re super-competitive. And then I think (Darren) Waller, the tight end, is very explosive. I don’t think I’ve seen many tight ends as explosive. We’ll have our hands full, for sure. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready to contain the guys and kind of put it in place.”
There will be plays that McMillan makes against Cisse. That short memory he had last week will help when he gives something up.
Dani Dennis-Sutton seems to make one play a week that raises your eyebrows. Last week, it was playing in coverage against Jahmyr Gibbs before what should have been Keisean Nixon’s game-changing stop on fourth down.
“Big, athletic man. I think he’s doing a good job,” defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said.
The Packers could use a boost from their pass rush after only getting to Jared Goff once last week. Dennis-Sutton could be part of that solution against an offensive tackle group that includes Rasheed Walker at left tackle and a new starter at right tackle after Taylor Moton was placed on injured reserve this week.
“Yeah, it’s just like all aspects of our game,” Gannon said of the pass rush. “I think we’ve done some really good things, and I think we can always be better in everything that we’re doing. This’ll be a good challenge for us because they got a good O-line and the quarterback is mobile, so it’s a different challenge than last week.
“Bryce (Young) shows that he doesn’t scramble to run, he scrambles to throw it. A lot of their explosives come up when he moves outside of the pocket and finds guys late, coverage breaks down and he throws a ball over your head. So, collectively with rush and coverage, we got to do a good job this week.”
Who is in charge of figuring out the offensive line combination? It’s hard to say who officially has the final call on that, but with the injuries that have struck up front, it’s imperative on the brain trust of Green Bay’s coaching staff to get this right.
We talked last week about the decision to start Travis Glover over a healthy Kevin Zeitler, who has deemed himself ready to play.
This week, that is not an option. Glover is out. Aaron Banks was a full participant in practice this week and is officially off the injury report. Mekhi Becton was signed to the active roster after Jacob Monk was placed on injured reserve.
Oh, by the way, there will be a new center this week, too. It’s possible that the Packers will have three new starters on their interior offensive line.
The Packers cannot afford to bungle this situation, as they have so many times in the past. Jordan Love has taken a beating this season, and with each crushing hit, the more likely his body is to break down.
For our money’s worth, Banks and Zeitler would be the guards with John Williams at center.
What will the Packers do? That remains to be seen.
Lukas Van Ness is the top man for Green Bay’s pass rush with Micah Parsons out of the lineup. Last week, Van Ness had an odd game where he was lining up inside and outside, so he did not have as many opportunities for true pass-rush reps.
This week, he’ll face off against either a new starter at right tackle or an old friend in former Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker. Based on where Van Ness has lined up this season, he figures to see a lot of Walker.
Walker really struggled last week, giving up three sacks and seven pressures against Tampa Bay, per PFF. He’s struggled most of the year. He has given up 34 pressures in 257 pass sets. This should be a good opportunity for Van Ness, who was shut out of the stat sheet last week, to make an impact.
Is Tucker Kraft back? Not yet, or at least not to the player he was this time last year. Kraft’s season ended against Carolina last year, and it came after a huge game at Pittsburgh in which he caught eight passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He looked like he was ready to take over the mantle of the best tight end in the NFL, but his season ended against the Panthers.
Kraft looked better last week against Detroit, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, but the coaches still want to make sure he gets the ball in his hands more.
“Yeah, anytime we can get Tuck the ball is great for our offense,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Obviously, he’s one of our top playmakers. That’s always a thing we talk about after games is, did this guy get enough targets? Did he get enough touches?
“We’ve got to just try and force the ball to him as much as we can. So, yes to both your questions. He is looking better every week and, yes, we want him to get the ball more just because he is a dynamic guy, gets YAC and is a vertical threat down the field at tight end.”
What’s the goal for targets?
“I think last game we could’ve gotten him the ball a couple more times. You want it to be around 10ish. That would be great,” Stenavich said.
If the Packers are true to Stenavich’s words, 10 targets makes him a big part of the passing game. With the potential absence or limitations of Matthew Golden, they’re going to need him to deliver.
Back to Matthew Golden. He is questionable on the injury report with shoulder and foot injuries, though he at least progressed to limited participation on Wednesday. So, while he’ll probably be in the lineup, he might be limited.
That means the Packers will need someone to step up in his place. Bo Melton and J. Michael Sturdivant have eight combined catches for 56 yards. In two games since returning from injured reserve, Savion Williams has seven catches for 79 yards.
Talent has never been a question with Williams. His role and refinement as a traditional receiver is, but he looks to have taken a leap as a route runner. That makes him more than just a gadget player, the role the Packers primarily used him in a season ago.
“Well, obviously, we’ve seen Savion out there the last few weeks make some plays,” Adam Stenavich said. “He’s made some crucial third-down and fourth-down conversions and he’s looked really nice out there, so he’s one of those guys that has really stepped up in his second year. So, if he has to play a bigger role, I feel very comfortable with that.”
It’s hard to envision Williams not playing a bigger role. If the Packers are going to win, he’ll need to deliver with that bigger role.
Trey Smack is riding the rollercoaster of a rookie kicker. The Packers have been on this rollercoaster before. Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson had some good moments in 2023 and 2024, respectively. They also had some bad moments that caused the Packers to lose patience and release them eventually in favor of Brandon McManus.
McManus was replaced this offseason by Smack under the guise of a competition.
Smack started the season on a strong note with a 58-yard field goal that split the uprights at Minnesota. His next kick was a missed extra point, which is a microcosm of his season. Smack is perfect on kicks of greater than 50 yards. He’s missed five kicks between 26 and 49 yards. He’s missed two extra points, as well.
His struggles really began against Chicago at the beginning of the month, when he missed two field goals and one extra point. The silver lining for Smack was that his misses came in a game that the Packers won 31-7.
No such luck last week against Detroit. Smack missed a 26-yard field goal and had another chip shot blocked in a game that the Packers lost by three points.
The Packers are not good enough to leave points on the field every week. The Packers are standing behind their rookie kicker, but will they start to lose patience if he struggles again on Thursday?
He can answer all of those questions by putting the ball through the uprights when he is called upon.
Less is more was the line of thinking in Green Bay’s passing game after parting ways with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, but if Matthew Golden has to play limited reps, that would mean more snaps with only one receiver who can be considered trustworthy.
That’s Watson, who has been up and down for the last two weeks after a huge game against the Bears. He had six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago. Since then, he has eight catches for 121 yards and has not scored.
With Golden’s status, the Packers are going to need a big night from Watson.
As much conversation as there is surrounding the passing game and supporting cast going into this game, Carolina is absolutely dreadful against opposing run games.
They are ranked 32nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, rushing yards allowed per carry and rushing touchdowns allowed.
Josh Jacobs returned last week with a limited workload after spending the first six weeks of the season on the commissioner’s exempt list.
None of the running backs stepped up in his absence, and Jacobs is being asked to save a ground game that is the worst in the league by almost 15 yards per game.
Jacobs did not save the ground game last week with 36 yards on 11 carries, though at least there were a couple glimmers.
Can the Packers survive with the worst run game in the NFL? Jordan Love does not think so.
“I definitely think it has to get better. I think where we’re at in the season, we’ve made it by in a couple of these games,” Love said. “We’ve leaned on the passing game and I think the pass game as good. Pass game, run game, there’s still a lot more out there for us but if we want to be the team we want to be, we definitely got to improve the run game.”
Jacobs brings some stability and credibility to Green Bay’s backfield.
“Yeah, I think obviously his presence, the leadership, all those things, you could feel that when he’s back in the lineup,” Love said. “I think obviously his expertise, his experience in the run game, the vision he has, his ability to break tackles and stay up through contact, things like that.
“All those things will improve slightly, but I still there’s more for us as a whole offense where everybody can really dive in and just figure out what we can improve on in that run game so we can start hitting some bigger chunks there. But definitely just having back out there was great.”
Yes, the Packers need to improve what they’re doing on the ground. Their run game is historically bad.
Still, if they’re going to win, that’s going to come from the right arm of Jordan Love. The Panthers’ pass defense has done well this season, but are missing a lot of their big guns. Both of their preferred starting cornerbacks will miss this game. Ditto for star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips.
Love has tried to make chicken salad all season with poor circumstances around him. That will likely be the case again on Thursday. His starting center will miss the game. He may be working with two new guards. His receiving corps could be down to just Christian Watson and Tucker Kraft as proven playmakers, depending on the availability of Golden.
This is why quarterbacks make the big bucks. Love has to play great in spite of all the factors working against him. His team has to win and bounce back from Sunday’s performance.
That is the burden that starting quarterbacks carry.
The Packers will face a "big-time challenge" tonight against the Panthers.
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 29, 2026
Here's what the coordinators had to say about the matchup.https://t.co/Ln6VqYVSMP
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