Game recap

Panthers @ Packers

2026 Wk 8 · GB 27, CAR 19

Green Bay scored all four of its touchdowns on third down and sacked Bryce Young six times.

FanIQ Research · October 30, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

All four Green Bay touchdowns came on third down. Since 1999, a team has scored four or more offensive touchdowns in a game, every one on third down, eight times.

Rare

Every game since 1999 with four or more offensive touchdowns, all on third down

Season	Week	Team	Opponent	Site	TDs	Final
2004	15	MIN	DET	Away	4	MIN 28, DET 27
2008	2	GB	DET	Away	4	GB 48, DET 25
2010	2	DEN	SEA	Home	4	DEN 31, SEA 14
2014	9	ARI	DAL	Away	4	ARI 28, DAL 17
2015	13	PIT	IND	Home	4	PIT 45, IND 10
2017	14	CAR	MIN	Home	4	CAR 31, MIN 24
2024	9	KC	TB	Home	4	KC 30, TB 24
2026	8	GB	CAR	Home	4	GB 27, CAR 19

Green Bay's four touchdowns

Qtr	Clock	Down and distance	Play
1	5:12	3rd and 8	Love 12-yd pass to Kraft
2	6:37	3rd and 1	Jacobs 1-yd run
2	1:51	3rd and 13	Love 24-yd pass to Golden
3	7:34	3rd and 1	Love 4-yd pass to Jacobs

That is the full list across 28 seasons of play-by-play, and Green Bay is on it twice; the first was a 48-25 win at Detroit in 2008. The longest of the four on Thursday was the 3rd and 13, when Jordan Love found Matthew Golden for 24 yards with 1:51 left in the first half. Carolina's two touchdowns came on second down and fourth down.

Why it matters. Third down is where drives usually stall, so a team that scores every touchdown there is converting the plays with the least margin for error. Green Bay did it with two 1-yard situations and two long ones, 3rd and 8 and 3rd and 13. It fits an offense that came in 28th in third-down conversion rate and finished drives on Thursday when it had one chance left.

Green Bay ranked 28th on third-down offense and 27th on third-down defense through Week 7. It converted 9 of 16 and held Carolina to 5 of 18.

Comparison

Third-down conversion rate on offense, 2026 Weeks 1 to 7

Rank	Team	Attempts	Converted	Rate
1	CIN	77	40	51.9%
2	BUF	61	31	50.8%
3	DAL	85	43	50.6%
15	CAR	78	32	41.0%
28	GB	90	32	35.6%
32	WAS	81	25	30.9%

Third-down conversion rate allowed on defense, 2026 Weeks 1 to 7

Rank	Team	Attempts	Converted	Rate
1	CHI	69	18	26.1%
2	MIN	78	23	29.5%
3	IND	79	24	30.4%
23	CAR	81	36	44.4%
27	GB	92	43	46.7%
32	MIA	69	38	55.1%

This game against each offense's Weeks 1 to 7 rate

Offense	This game	Rate	Weeks 1 to 7	Change
GB	9 of 16	56.3%	35.6%	+20.7
CAR	5 of 18	27.8%	41.0%	-13.2

Four of Green Bay's nine conversions were touchdowns. Carolina's 18 third downs were the most either team faced, and two of its 13 failures were sacks of Bryce Young. Carolina did go 2 of 4 on fourth down, including the 26-yard Jalen Coker touchdown on 4th and 3.

Why it matters. Both of Green Bay's third-down units came in near the bottom of the league, so this was a reversal on both sides of the ball, not one unit carrying the other. The offense beat its own rate by 20.7 percentage points, and the defense held Carolina 13.2 percentage points under Carolina's own rate. In an 8-point game, that third-down gap is where Green Bay's touchdowns and Carolina's stalled drives came from.

Bryce Young was sacked 12 times in Carolina's first five games and 11 times in the last two. Green Bay's six tied the second-most of his career.

Anomaly

Bryce Young sacks by game, 2026

Week	Opponent	Sacks
1	CHI	2
2	at ATL	2
3	at CLE	3
4	DET	3
6	at PHI	2
7	TB	5
8	at GB	6

Most times sacked in a game, Bryce Young career, regular season

Season	Week	Opponent	Sacks
2023	11	DAL	7
2023	8	HOU	6
2023	17	at JAX	6
2024	15	DAL	6
2026	8	at GB	6

Green Bay's six sacks came from six different players: Devonte Wyatt, Brenton Cox Jr., Ty'Ron Hopper, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell and Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Packers had one sack in each of their previous two games. Through Week 7, only the Jets had more in a 2026 game, with eight against Cleveland in Week 5; Minnesota at Tampa Bay and Tennessee at Indianapolis also had six.

Why it matters. Young went five games without more than three sacks, then took five against Tampa Bay and six here, so the trend is recent and steep. Six different Packers getting home points to pressure from across the front rather than one player beating one blocker. Two of the six came on third down, and one ended Carolina's opening drive at the Green Bay 21, turning a short field into a field goal.

Green Bay scored 20 points on three first-half touchdown drives, then 7 points on five second-half drives.

Split

Offense on pass and run plays, by half

Team	Half	Plays	Net yards	EPA/play	Success rate	Points
GB	1st	37	227	+0.210	43.2%	20
GB	2nd	30	127	-0.142	53.3%	7
CAR	1st	33	87	-0.229	27.3%	10
CAR	2nd	37	171	-0.077	40.5%	9

Green Bay's second-half drives

Started	Spot	Result
3rd, 12:18	50	Love 4-yd TD pass to Jacobs
3rd, 4:01	GB 32	Love interception at CAR 2
4th, 12:12	GB 15	Punt
4th, 5:04	GB 27	Fumbled snap, intentional grounding, punt
4th, 2:41	50	Punt with 0:30 left

The second-half touchdown came after Carolina failed on 4th and 2 at midfield. The next drive reached the Carolina 27 early in the fourth quarter, and Zakee Wheatley picked off a deep throw for Golden at the 2 with Green Bay up 27-13. Carolina outgained Green Bay 171 to 127 after halftime and cut a 17-point lead to 8.

Why it matters. Green Bay's second-half success rate was higher than its first-half rate, but all three of its plays of 20 yards or more came before halftime, and the one deep shot that might have ended the game was intercepted. That left the door open for Carolina to get within one score with 5:45 left. The first half built the margin; the second half only protected it.

Carolina led twice in the first 16 minutes. Green Bay then scored 21 straight points, and Carolina's comeback stopped at 8.

Trend

Scoring plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score after
1	11:47	CAR	Fitzgerald 39-yd FG	CAR 3, GB 0
1	5:12	GB	Love 12-yd TD pass to Kraft, extra point missed	GB 6, CAR 3
2	15:00	CAR	Hubbard 1-yd TD run	CAR 10, GB 6
2	6:37	GB	Jacobs 1-yd TD run	GB 13, CAR 10
2	1:51	GB	Love 24-yd TD pass to Golden	GB 20, CAR 10
3	7:34	GB	Love 4-yd TD pass to Jacobs	GB 27, CAR 10
3	4:11	CAR	Fitzgerald 50-yd FG	GB 27, CAR 13
4	5:45	CAR	Young 26-yd TD pass to Coker, two-point try failed	GB 27, CAR 19

Carolina recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff at the Green Bay 29 and got three points from it. Its 10-6 lead lasted until a Green Bay drive from its own 10, sparked by a 53-yard Love pass to Christian Watson. Ty'Ron Hopper's interception at the Carolina 44 set up the Golden touchdown. After the Coker score, Carolina got the ball back at its own 45 with 4:35 left and turned it over on downs on 4th and 5 at midfield.

Why it matters. Two conversion tries shaped the finish. Trey Smack's extra point after the Kraft touchdown hit the left upright, which kept the final lead at 8 instead of 9. Carolina's two-point try then failed, so it trailed by 8 rather than 6 on its last two possessions. Carolina's last real chance came at midfield with 2:46 left, and Green Bay then ran the clock to 0:30 without giving it back.

Green Bay answered last season's 16-13 home loss to Carolina. The Packers are 6-3 against the Panthers at Lambeau Field since 1999.

Milestone

Every Carolina game at Green Bay since 1999

Season	Week	Result	Final
1999	14	CAR won	CAR 33, GB 31
2002	4	GB won	GB 17, CAR 14
2007	11	GB won	GB 31, CAR 17
2008	13	CAR won	CAR 35, GB 31
2014	7	GB won	GB 38, CAR 17
2019	10	GB won	GB 24, CAR 16
2020	15	GB won	GB 24, CAR 16
2025	9	CAR won	CAR 16, GB 13
2026	8	GB won	GB 27, CAR 19

Series since 1999, regular season

Team	Wins	Wins at Green Bay
GB	10	6
CAR	7	3

The 2025 meeting was the only one of the last five at Lambeau that Carolina won, and it held Green Bay to 13 points. This time Green Bay scored 27, its most against Carolina at home since a 38-17 win in 2014.

Why it matters. The series is close overall, but at Lambeau Green Bay has won six of nine, and both of Carolina's other road wins there came in shootouts of 31 or more points. Last season's loss was the exception: a 16-13 game in which Carolina's defense held the Packers to their lowest point total in the series at home. Thursday's win puts the home pattern back in place.

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