The Panthers’ night in Green Bay ended with another ugly number in the standings, but one rookie kept flashing in the middle of the mess.
Carolina dropped below .500 on Thursday at Lambeau Field, falling 27-19 to the Packers. Dave Canales’s team couldn’t get Green Bay’s offense under control, even though the Packers’ run game was held below 100 yards for the eighth straight game. Jordan Love made the difference instead, carving up the Panthers through the air.
Love completed 30 of 41 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Carolina never got home on defense, finishing with zero sacks and zero quarterback hits. The team then moved quickly, firing defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero on Friday.
That lone interception belonged to rookie safety Zakee Wheatley, and it was the first pick of his NFL career. The former Nittany Lion has been one of the brighter spots on a defense that has had to patch things together. Per Pro Football Focus, only Green Bay’s Evan Williams (90.6) owns a higher grade at safety than Wheatley’s 89.8, and Wheatley’s 83.4 coverage grade ranks third at the position behind Williams (90.1) and Seattle’s Julian Love (85.4).
Wheatley didn’t even dress for the season opener against the Bears, but he’s been on the field for each of Carolina’s last six games and has started four of them. He now sits sixth on the team with 25 defensive stops, including 18 solo tackles, along with one forced fumble, four passes defensed, and Thursday’s interception of Jordan Love. He also chipped in a solo tackle on special teams.
The Panthers rolled out a secondary that looked different against Green Bay, with cornerbacks Marco Wilson - in his first game with the team - and rookie Will Lee III joining safeties Wheatley, Nick Scott, and Tre’von Moehrig as the five starters in the back end.
Wilson led Carolina with eight tackles, while Wheatley and linebacker Devin Lloyd finished tied for second with seven. It was the fifth time in six games that Wheatley posted at least four defensive stops.
There are signs the Panthers’ defense has improved from a year ago, but the injuries have clearly taken a toll. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson have been out at corner, and with Jaelan Phillips sidelined for the last two games, Carolina has gone without a sack in both of those contests.
Even with the loss, Wheatley’s season keeps building into something more than a nice surprise. Right now, he looks like a Day 3 steal, which fits with some of the post-draft buzz around Dan Morgan’s 2026 class.
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Dave Canales Just Became Carolinas Biggest Question
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Dave Canales is now at the center of that conversation. The offense has not consistently matched the urgency of the moment, and with the defense being reworked in-season, the Panthers are left hoping the entire operation settles down quickly. For a team trying to stay afloat in a crowded NFC race, the bigger question may be whether the coaching changes can stabilize things, or whether they only underline how much more work still needs to be done. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Can't Ignore This Bryce Young Protection Problem Much Longer
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Dave Canales said Ekwonu is making progress and has moved into more individual work, which is at least a sign the recovery is moving in the right direction. But he is still not ready for full-speed action, and until that changes, the Panthers are left trying to keep Young upright with a solution that has not held up well enough. [Read more 🡒]