5 stats to explain Packers' 27-19 win over Panthers on 'TNF' - Packers Wire
The Green Bay Packers took down the visiting Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football" to open Week 8 in the NFL. The big stats to know: Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes and Josh Jacobs scored twice, while the Packers defense produced six sacks and held the Panthers to just 3.7 yards per play.
The Packers pressured Bryce Young on 48.9 percent of his dropbacks on Thursday night, and he completed only seven passes for 41 yards and took six sacks while pressured, per Next Gen Stats. Brenton Cox Jr. (6), Dani Dennis-Sutton and Lukas Van Ness (5) led the way in the pressure department for the Packers, who consistently won at the line of scrimmage and forced Young into rushed decisions or improvised throws. Because of the pass protection issues, Young completed only two passes thrown more than 10 yards downfield and attempted only one pass more than 20 yards downfield.
While Bryce Young languished under pressure, Jordan Love consistently got the ball out of his hands quick and on time. Per Next Gen Stats, Love completed 23 of 25 passes thrown in under 2.5 seconds after the snap, completing negating any pass-rush. His 23 "quick" completions were the most in a game by a quarterback this season and by far the most in his career, beating the 19 he had during Week 7 in 2024. Two of his three touchdowns came on quick throws under 2.5 seconds. The Panthers tried to blitz Love, but he consistently found quick answers to beat potential pressure.
The Packers turned the ball over three times: Coleman Owen's fumble on the opening kickoff return, Christian Watson's fumble in the second quarter and Jordan Love's interception to start the fourth quarter. But the Panthers turned those three takeaways into all of three points. And the field goal came after Owen's fumble set up the Panthers inside the 30-yard line. Turnovers can be huge momentum-turning plays in games, but not if a defense stands tall. Jonathan Gannon's group made sure mistakes made didn't turn into a run of points for the Panthers.
The Packers' putrid run game managed only 66 yards, and 18 came on Savion Williams' gadget run. Josh Jacobs struggled to get going, turning 21 carries into only 39 yards -- becoming the first player since 2023 to carry at least 20 times and gain fewer than 40 rushing yards. The Packers run game had hopes of breaking out on Thursday night, given the return of Aaron Banks and the possibility of Jacobs shaking off the rust in his second game of the season. But even with the worst run defense in football, at least statistically entering Week 8, in the house on a short week, the Packers couldn't revive the run game. That made it especially difficult to close out the game in the fourth quarter.
Converting 9-of-16 third down opportunities and scoring touchdowns on all three red zone trips made for an excellent situational night for the Packers, even if the offense had a three-and-out to open the game, an interception thrown in field goal range and a three-and-out after the Panthers closed the deficit to 27-19 late. Tucker Kraft caught a touchdown pass on third down. Josh Jacobs ran in a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass, both on third down from inside the 5. Matthew Golden caught a 22-yard touchdown pass (after a dropped touchdown) on third down. The Packers made plays in high leverage situations. The Panthers, meanwhile, were 5-for-18 on third down and 2-for-4 on fourth down.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. Our editorial recommendations are made independently of that compensation.
Comments reflect the views of their authors, not USA TODAY, its publications or its journalists. We do not fact check, verify, or endorse comments and are not responsible for their accuracy or any reliance on them. We may remove comments or suspend commenting privileges at our discretion. Comments are public; do not post personal information. By commenting, you agree to our Terms of Service, Community Rules, and Privacy Policy.
