PACKERVILLE, U.S.A.: Packers at Panthers Preview

Week 16 Packers-Panthers Preview is HERE.

With their playoff hopes fading, Jordan Love and the Packers enter must-win territory at Carolina

ASSOCIATED PRESS

GREEN BAY (6-8) at CAROLINA (2-12)

DAY / TIME / TV: Sunday, 12:00 p.m. CST, FOX

SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 10-6.

LAST MEETING: Packers beat Panthers 24-16 on Dec. 19, 2020, in Green Bay.

LAST WEEK: Packers lost to Buccaneers 34-20; Panthers beat Falcons 9-7.

PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (18), RUSH (21), PASS (17), SCORING (18-T).

PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (23), RUSH (30), PASS (12), SCORING (17-T).

PANTHERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (30), RUSH (17), PASS (31), SCORING (29).

PANTHERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (20), PASS (3), SCORING (29).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers even; Panthers minus-6.

It’s now or never for the Green Bay Packers. After back-to-back losses to the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers (6-8) find themselves on the outside of the NFC playoff bubble, making Sunday’s game against the league-worst Carolina Panthers (2-12) a must-win. The same can be said of their final two games at Minnesota and at home against Chicago.

The Packers have no one to blame but themselves for their circumstances. Last Sunday’s home loss to the Buccaneers dropped Green Bay from the seventh seed in the NFC to the 11th spot, and its chances of making the postseason plummeted from 50% to 18%, according the NFL’s projections. “Yeah, we’ve got to win,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “We’ve got three opportunities to go out there and get a win. The goal right now is to get to 9-8 and then let the playoffs kind of play themselves out, see if we can get a shot in there. Obviously bouncing back after two tough losses, we’ve just got to find a way to go win these last three.”

On Sunday, the Packers get the Panthers (2-12), who knocked visiting Atlanta out of a three-way tie for first place in the NFC South last Sunday with a 9-7 win. “There’s a lot of fight in them, no matter what the score,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “It’s evident because it shows on their tape. You can always see it. And it was pretty evident last week… I’m pretty sure that we’re going to get their best shot this weekend.”

The Packers still have a viable path forward because their conference record is comparable to teams directly ahead of them in the standings, and their final three games are against NFC foes.

The Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints all enter the weekend one game ahead of the Packers. The Packers hold head-to-head tiebreakers against the Rams and Saints.

DEFENSIVE DEFICIENCIES

Here’s some good news for struggling Panthers rookie Bryce Young: The last two quarterbacks to face the Packers both performed well enough to be named NFC offensive player of the week. After Tommy DeVito rallied the New York Giants to a 24-22 victory over the Packers, Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 34-20 win at Green Bay.

Green Bay’s issues led to LaFleur being asked after the Bucs game whether he’d consider firing defensive coordinator Joe Barry. LaFleur said Monday he’s keeping Barry for now and cited poor communication as the biggest problem facing the defense.

SLOW STARTS

Carolina has not scored an offensive touchdown in the first half since Oct. 29, a string of seven straight games. That means the team has been playing from behind. The Panthers have only snapped the ball this season with a lead on 14.1% of their plays, the lowest mark in the league. “It starts with myself doing a better job and then we all take ownership,” Young said. “We definitely want to start stronger and not wait to score touchdowns.”

POWER OF LOVE

While the Packers have been slumping, Love has continued to surge in his first season as their starter. Love has thrown 11 touchdown passes with only one interception over his last five games. He has completed 68.8% of his passes during that stretch. “I think I’ve been getting better every week, just understanding little scenarios better, understanding the plays better, where to go with the ball, just situational awareness, things like that,” Love said. “But I think this has been a learning process for me, and every week I’ve been growing, learning from mistakes that I made.”

SURGING KRAFT

The Packers drafted a pair of tight ends this year, taking Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave in the second round and South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft in the third. Musgrave had much more productive start to his rookie season. He caught 33 passes in 10 games before going on injured reserve. But since Musgrave went down with an abdominal injury, Kraft has thrived in a bigger role. Kraft has caught eight passes for 121 yards over his last two games. He scored his second touchdown of the season against Tampa Bay. “The game’s slowed down a lot,” Kraft said. “I’m just very thankful for my teammates. They’ve made it very easy and welcoming on me.”

HUBBARD ON THE RUN

The Panthers are getting some production out of Chuba Hubbard, who has rushed for at least 87 yards in each of the last three games. Hubbard took over the starting role from Miles Sanders early in the season and hasn’t surrendered the job. Hubbard is set to make slightly more than $1 million next season while Sanders is entering the second year of a four-year, $24.5 million contract. If the team were to cut Sanders, it would take a dead cap hit of $8.4 million in 2024.

KEEPING UP WITH JONES

Don’t be surprised if the Packers lean heavily on running back Aaron Jones, who has had tremendous success against Carolina. Jones has run for 238 yards and four touchdowns in two games against the Panthers, both of them 24-16 wins for the Packers. After missing three games with a knee injury, Jones had 13 carries for 53 yards against the Bucs.

PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH

WR Dontayvion Wicks had six catches for 97 yards against Tampa Bay to set career highs in both categories. The fifth-round pick from Virginia has teamed up with second-round selection Jayden Reed to give the Packers a pair of promising rookie wideouts. Wicks has only one touchdown, but he has had at least 90 yards receiving in two of his past four games.

PANTHERS PLAYER TO WATCH

Panthers K Eddy Pineiro went 3 for 3 on field-goal attempts last week, including the game-winner as time expired to beat the Falcons and was selected as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Both Carolina wins this season have come on winning kicks by Pineiro as time expired. Pineiro has made 88.9% of his field goals and has developed into a reliable option for Carolina.

KEY MATCHUP

Packers QB Jordan Love vs. Panthers pass defense: Love has thrown 11 touchdown passes and only one interception over his past four games, although Green Bay is just 2-2 in those games. He’ll face a Carolina defense that has steadily improved despite a number of injuries early in the season. The Panthers limited the Falcons to seven points last week and held Desmond Ridder in check.

KEY INJURIES

Packers CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder) has missed six straight games… Packers WR Christian Watson (hamstring) has missed two consecutive games… Packers S Darnell Savage (shoulder) and RB AJ Dillon (thumb) didn’t play against Tampa Bay…Packers TE Luke Musgrave (abdomen) is on injured reserve… The Panthers were without three pass rushers — Brian Burns (illness), Marquis Haynes (back/illness), Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) — at practice Wednesday, but they still have a chance to play.

SATURDAY INJURY REPORT

GREEN BAY PACKERS: Jaire Alexander, CB: questionable (Shoulder), De'Vondre Campbell, LB: out (Neck), A.J. Dillon, RB: questionable (Thumb), Rudy Ford, S: questionable (Back), Aaron Jones, RB: LP (Knee), Caleb Jones, OT: DNP (Foot), Luke Musgrave, TE: out (Kidney), Jayden Reed, WR: questionable (Toe), Robert Rochell, CB: questionable (Neck), Darnell Savage Jr., S: out (Shoulder), Tedarrell Slaton, DL: questionable (Knee), Luke Tenuta, OT: doubtful (Ankle), Quay Walker, LB: LP (Shoulder), Christian Watson, WR: doubtful (Hamstring), Dontayvion Wicks, WR: questionable (Ankle), Emanuel Wilson, RB: doubtful (Shoulder) CAROLINA PANTHERS: Brian Burns, OLB: DNP (Illness), Claudin Cherelus, LB: questionable (Knee), Andy Dalton, QB: FP (Illness), Sam Franklin Jr., S: questionable (Quadricep), Yetur Gross-Matos, OLB: DNP (Knee), Marquis Haynes, OLB: DNP (Illness), David Sharpe, OT: LP (Illness), Stephen Sullivan, TE: FP (Shoulder), Ian Thomas, TE: questionable (Ankle), Xavier Woods, S: LP (Illness).

SERIES NOTES

The Panthers have won three of the past four meetings at home against the Packers. However, the past two meetings, both at Lambeau Field, have resulted in 24-16 wins by the Packers. The two teams met in the 1996 NFC championship game with the Packers prevailing in Green Bay.

STATS AND STUFF

The Packers haven’t had a 100-yard rushing or receiving performance in any game this season. No team has ever done that for an entire season of at least 16 games… Packers DT Kenny Clark had two sacks against Tampa Bay to improve his season total to a career-high 6½… After winning their first 16 December games under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers have lost two straight… The Packers have three players who started the season at 24 or younger who have at least five TD catches this season: Romeo Doubs (seven), Jayden Reed (six) and Christian Watson (five). The only team to have more such players in NFL history was the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers with four, according to STATS… The Packers have three rookies with at least 30 catches, the first time that’s happened in franchise history. The rookies are Reed (54), Luke Musgrave (33) and Dontayvion Wicks (31)… The Packers have six rookies with at least one TD catch this season. That’s the most in franchise history and the most of any team in the Super Bowl era aside from the 1987 strike season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau… Carolina’s only two wins this season have come at home… The Panthers have not scored an offensive touchdown in the first half in seven straight games… Carolina has only led in 14.1% of the plays it’s run this season, which is last in the NFL. Also, the Panthers have not led on a single play in the fourth quarter. Both of their wins have come on winning field goals as time expired, and they were trailing before those kicks… The Panthers have been outscored by 142 points this season… QB Bryce Young led a game-winning, 17-play, 90-yard drive last week that took 7:35 off the clock to beat the Falcons. The No. 1 overall pick is 2-11 as a starter… RB Chuba Hubbard has run for at least 87 yards in three straight games… RT Taylor Moton has played in 112 consecutive games for the Panthers, which is the longest streak of any offensive lineman in team history.