The Carolina Panthers came into Thursday night with a simple test in front of them: show they could do something different against the run after the nightmare they just lived through against Tampa Bay.
So far, they’ve answered it.
Josh Jacobs has been active, with Green Bay feeding him the ball 10 times before halftime, but the results haven’t come close to what Carolina surrendered last week. Late in the first half, Jacobs had 10 carries for only 14 yards, and although he did punch in a 1-yard touchdown, the Panthers have kept him from finding much room anywhere else.
That’s a sharp contrast from what happened against the Buccaneers. Bucky Irving ripped off 106 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, and Tampa Bay piled up 258 rushing yards as a team. Carolina missed too many tackles in that game, and by the end, the Buccaneers were running whenever they felt like it.
This one has looked different from the start. Jacobs has been given the touches, but the lane has rarely been there. His longest run has gone for just four yards, and most of his attempts have ended with multiple Panthers converging on the football.
After the tackling issues Carolina showed against Tampa Bay, that’s been the biggest change. The Panthers still have work left to do, and Jacobs only needs one clean crease to flip the numbers in a hurry. Green Bay isn’t going to stop leaning on him with a half still to play.
But through the first half, Carolina has done what it needed to do. After getting embarrassed on the ground four days earlier, the Panthers have at least made Jacobs work for everything.
In Other News...
Panthers Just Sent A Message Fans Might Not Like
Earlier this year, the Panthers moved on from Jimmy Horn Jr. after a string of mistakes, including a muffed punt that helped push him out of the picture. So when David Moore put one on the ground recently and the error fed into a loss, it naturally reopened the conversation about how Carolina handles accountability on special teams and whether the standard is being applied evenly.
Moores mistake did not lead to the same kind of roster fallout, and that contrast is hard for fans to ignore. For a team trying to establish a sharper edge and cleaner execution, the message can feel less about the play itself than about what the Panthers are willing to tolerate when it happens again. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Loss Revealed Who Actually Held Up In Week 8
The Panthers Week 8 loss to the Packers exposed just how much they were asking from a patchwork roster, with a makeshift offensive line and a depleted cornerback room absorbing a lot of the pressure. Even in defeat, Pro Football Focus grading gave a clearer picture of who was steady and who was struggling, offering a useful snapshot of how Carolinas depth held up under the circumstances.
Corey Bullock came away as the best-performing presence on the offensive line, while Lee Hunter stood out on defense in the kind of game where every clean rep mattered. The broader takeaway was less about the final score than the way the grades underscored which Panthers were able to keep their footing when the roster around them was already stretched thin. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Biggest Problem
The Panthers moved quickly after their Week 8 loss to Green Bay, making a blunt change on the defensive side by firing Ejiro Evero and Jonathan Cooley. Carolina pointed to the defenses struggles as the reason, with the run defense and the points allowed becoming too much to ignore after a rough first half of the season.
Todd Walsh will step in as interim defensive coordinator beginning in Week 9, giving the team a short-term reset and a new voice in a room that clearly needed one. For a Carolina team trying to stabilize its season, the move says as much about urgency as it does about performance, and now the bigger question is whether the changes can actually produce a cleaner, tougher defense right away. [Read more 🡒]