GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are 4-3 and in last place in the NFC North. The Carolina Panthers are 3-3 and in first place in the NFC South.

Two inconsistent teams in the thick of the playoff race will square off at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.

Green Bay’s three coordinators met with reporters on Wednesday. Here’s what they said when asked about the matchups.

Offensive Coordinator Adam Stenavich on Carolina’s Defense

Asked about Carolina’s defense, which has ranged from good to bad depending on the day of the week, the phase of the moon and the amount of fiber at the team breakfast, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich started with defensive tackle Derrick Brown.

Brown was a Pro Bowler in 2023, when had 103 tackles – an unthinkable number for a defensive lineman. He missed most of 2024 and bounced back last season with a career-high five sacks along with 73 tackles.

“I think the biggest thing is 95 up front,” Stenavich said. “He’s a really good player, does a nice job. He’s dominant in the middle.”

The Panthers will be without their top defensive player, edge rusher Jaelan Phillips. Linebacker Devin Lloyd, who the Packers could have drafted but instead took Quay Walker, is Carolina’s equivalent of Edgerrin Cooper with his ability to cause havoc with two sacks, four tackles for losses and two interceptions.

Overall, the Panthers are 28th with 27.7 yards allowed per game. They have the worst rushing defense in the NFL (32nd with 5.16 yards allowed per carry) but one of the best pass defenses (fifth with 5.87 yards allowed per pass attempt). They are bad on third down and the red zone but, then again, so were the Lions last week.

Which defense will the Panthers face? Chicago scored 59 at Carolina in Week 1 and the Buccaneers scored 43 at Carolina last week. On the road, they’ve allowed three against Atlanta, 21 against Cleveland and 14 against Philadelphia.

“They bring some pressures at you, especially on third down,” Stenavich continued. “They do a nice job with their (games up front) and things like that, mixing up coverages. We’ve just got to make sure we’re clean with all that stuff, give Jordan (Love) some time to get back (and) make some decisions and good reads back there.

“That’s the biggest thing, is just handling them up front and then allowing Jordan to do his thing.”

Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon on Carolina’s Offense

Carolina’s offense is led by quarterback Bryce Young. He is 14th in the league in passer rating, just behind Matthew Stafford and just ahead of Dak Prescott.

A bit like Jordan Love, who is 19th in rating, Young completes a low percentage of his passes (59.2) but pushes the ball downfield. He ranks second in the league with 7.52 air yards per completion.

“Yeah, it’s a good offense, man. He’s playing extremely well,” Gannon said. “It’s a good O-line. He’s a good player. He’s got a very quick release, he sees the field very well, he’s mobile, he can make all the throws. What really pops off the tape to me about him is his toughness. For not being a huge guy, he takes shots and gets up and plays the game the right way, I think. But it’s a big-time challenge.”

With Carolina playing six games compared to seven for most of the rest of the league, Tetairoa McMillan ranks in the top 15 with 36 receptions for 511 yards. He’s scored two touchdowns and is averaging 14.2 yards per catch.

While the Lions’ secondary shut down Green Bay’s prolific receivers, McMillan caught 14-of-16 targets for 192 yards and two touchdowns against them in Week 4. Chuba Hubbard is a one-man backfield. He’s got 459 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Bucs shut him down last week but he had 120-plus rushing yards the previous two games.

Overall, the Panthers are sixth in scoring and fifth in total offense. They are just outside the top 10 in third down and red zone.

“They’re a good offense,” Gannon continued. “I think they lead the league in explosives. They’re 10th or 11th in the red zone, third down, so they throw the ball over your head. They can still run it. I think the back’s a really good player. Chuba’s a really good player. And then they convert third downs and they convert in the red zone, so big-time challenge.”

Special Teams Coordinator Cam Achord on Carolina’s Punt Return

Neither team is special on special teams, but Carolina ranks eight in punt-return average and second in kickoff coverage.

On punt returns, Trevor Etienne is averaging 14.3 yards per punt return with a long of 24 and receiver Jalen Coker has a 36-yarder among his two runbacks.

“They’ve got a couple different guys, whether it’s David (Moore) or Etienne back there,” special teams coordinator Cam Achord said. “They catch the ball, they can get to the edge. They’ve got fast guys there, for sure, and they do a good job holding up the gunners. They’ve presented a lot of different stuff and movement on their return game.

“We’ve got to have really good communication from our guys on that unit and then the coverage and spreading the field, because they will go to the field. It’s not like a team just catching the ball and getting the 10 yards that may be there or 5 yards. It’s, ‘Hey, he’s going to get flat and try to circle you.’ So, we’ve got to do a really good job cutting the field off, because everybody, whether it’s the back side of the punt team or the front side of the punt team, there’s a chance you’re going to be in on that play.”

Kicker Spencer Shrader is 19-of-21 on field goals and leads the league with 80 points. Packers kicker Trey Smack is just 11-of-16 on field goals and is tied for the NFL lead with seven total misses.

“We got to improve the contact,” Achord said. “We’ve had some ups and downs, obviously, early on in the season you’d like to not have, and just continue to work with the contact. That’s where it’s really at.”

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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 28, 2026