Live Updates: Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (10-3) are hosting the Carolina Panthers (4-9) at Lambeau Field on Saturday night. Follow along here all night for updates.
Final Score: Packers 24, Panthers 16
The Packers won but it wasn't pretty.
Fourth Quarter
Packers 24, Panthers 16 (2:04 remaining)
Carolina answered with Joey Slye’s 33-yard field goal. A 40-yard catch and run by D.J. Moore, who bounced off linebacker Christian Kirksey and defensive back Chandon Sullivan, gave Carolina a first down at the 15. Instead of go for a potential touchdown, coach Matt Rhule instantly sent on the field-goal unit to make it a one-score game with the 2-minute timeout in hand. The ball’s in the offense’s court to clinch the game.
Packers 24, Panthers 13 (3:39 remaining)
Mason Crosby did it again. His 51-yard field goal through the damp chill put the Packers in front by 11 and broke a five-drive streak of punts as the most opportune of times. On third-and-7, Aaron Rodgers hit Allen Lazard on a crossing route for a gain of 22 yards. That put Green Bay in scoring position. Lucas Patrick gave up a sack on third-and-6 but Crosby had the leg on the field goal.
Packers 21, Panthers 13 (8:39 remaining)
Joey Slye made a 22-yard field goal to make it a one-score game. Carolina quarterback Teddy Bridgewater converted a third down with his arm and with his legs. Then, on third-and-goal from the 7, Bridgewater scrambled to the 1 and was stripped by Chandon Sullivan. Carolina recovered in the end zone for a touchdown but guard John Miller was flagged for holding. The Packers got a third-down stop. It was Green Bay’s second red-zone stop of the game; it was No. 28 in the NFL in the red zone entering the game. Now, it will be up to a Green Bay offensive with five consecutive punts to make something happen.
Third Quarter
Packers 21, Panthers 10 (2:23 remaining)
For the fifth consecutive series, Green Bay punted. On its first three drives, it had 213 yards, 13 first downs and 21 points. On its last five possessions, it had 54 yards, four first downs and zero points.
Packers 21, Panthers 10 (5:15 remaining)
The Packers had four chances to turn this game into a rout. Instead, the Panthers have clawed their way back into the game. Taking advantage of a short field, the Panthers drove 51 yards for a touchdown. The score came on Teddy Bridgewater’s 13-yard scramble. On third-and-9 from the 21, the Packers got a stop but Kevin King was flagged for holding.
INJURY UPDATE: Packers LB Krys Barnes suffered an eye injury and is questionable to return.
Halftime
Packers 21, Panthers 3
Green Bay is ahead comfortably but the inability to hold up against the Panthers’ pass rush cost it on its final two possessions. On the final drive, which started at the 31 with 55 seconds remaining, Lucas Patrick gave up a first-down sack and Aaron Rodgers’ deep pass to Allen Lazard was dropped at the sideline. Still, the Packers are rolling and will get the ball to start the second half. Green Bay got a critical forced fumble at the goal line by Krys Barnes and has held Teddy Bridgewater to 7-of-15 passing.
Second Quarter
INJURY UPDATE: Running back Jamaal Williams, who was injured early in the game, and headed to the locker room with 1:29 remaining in the half. He is questionable with an injured quad.
Packers 21, Panthers 3 (3:58 remaining)
Aaron Jones might have scored the easiest touchdown of his life to cap a 14-point swing. On second-and-5 from the 8, Jones took the ball up the middle and then bounced to the left. With tight end Marcedes Lewis wiping out that side of the line, Jones high-stepped his way for the final 5 yards. Jones has carried 12 times for 114 yards in the half.
Packers 14, Panthers 3 (7:29 remaining)
Krys Barnes made what might wind up being the play of the game. With the Panthers on the precipice of scoring, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater jumped and tried to extend the ball to the goal line. Instead, it was knocked out by linebacker Krys Barnes. Kevin King scooped up the loose ball and returned it to Carolina’s 47. Green Bay entered the night ranked 28th in the red zone with an opponent touchdown percentage of 68.5.
Packers 14, Panthers 3 (14:09 remaining)
Green Bay went 8-of-11 on third down last week and is 4-for-4 to start Saturday. On third-and-goal from the 6, Rodgers scrambled for the touchdown. Rodgers and Davante Adams made two key plays. On third-and-7, Rodgers found Adams for 14. On third-and-1, Rodgers fired a quick pass in the flat to Adams, who got key blocks by Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard for a gain of 14.
First Quarter
Packers 7, Panthers 3 (5:57 remaining)
Joey Slye booted a 26-yard field goal to get Carolina on the board. The big play was Teddy Bridgewater’s perfect deep ball to D.J. Moore for a gain of 37 over Kevin King. However, a second-down sack by Preston Smith saved the Packers from worse damage.
RELATED: AARON RODGERS MAKES HISTORY
Packers 7, Panthers 0 (9:54 remaining)
The Packers are rolling at the start. After the defense coaxed a three-and-out stop to open the game, Green Bay zoomed 81 yards for an opening touchdown. The key play came on third-and-1. Aaron Jones shot through a big hole between right guard Billy Turner and right tackle Rick Wagner for a gain of 46. A flip to Jamaal Williams gained 14, a run by Williams gained 6 and a pass in the flat to Robert Tonyan made it first-and-goal at the 1. Tonyan was wide open and Rodgers hit him for the score. It was touchdown pass No. 40 on the season by Rodgers. He’s the first player in NFL history with three seasons of 40-plus touchdowns.
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How to Watch
Saturday’s game will air on NFL Network, though there are alternatives.
If you live in the Green Bay area, you can watch on WLUK. If you live in the Milwaukee area, you can watch on WITI.
Fans can stream these games through NFL digital properties across devices (NFL.com and the NFL app), NFL Network distributors’ apps and sites, and on phones via Yahoo Sports and the respective teams’ mobile properties.
Prediction
Carolina has lost seven of its last eight games. The exception? A 20-0 victory at home over woeful Detroit four weeks ago. Green Bay, of course, is rolling. All it has to do is keep winning to gain the No. 1 seed – a potential huge prize considering the possibility of extreme weather in January. Quarterbacks have generally feasted on Carolina’s defense. Aaron Rodgers has been ravenous all season. With the better team and so much to play for, Green Bay should earn win No. 11.
Packers 34, Panthers 17 (Bill’s Record: 11-2.)
Gambling Perspective
The Packers are 8.5-point favorites. Not surprisingly given the state of the teams, 79 percent of the money is on Green Bay at FanDuel. Meanwhile, New Orleans is a home underdog against Kansas City, even with the return of Drew Brees. The Packers and Saints are leading the fight for homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Inactives
For Carolina, left tackle Russell Okung and running back Christian McCaffrey are out.
Dominant Rodgers
The numbers are piling up for Aaron Rodgers in a blast-from-the-past season that has him in the MVP hunt.
With his league-leading 39 touchdown passes, Rodgers needs one touchdown to become the first player in NFL history with three seasons of at least 40 touchdown passes. He also reached the mark in 2016 (40) and his MVP season of 2011 (45).
Last week, Rodgers passed for 290 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 133.6 rating, his third consecutive game with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Seattle’s Russell Wilson owns the longest such streak in NFL history, with five games in 2015. There have been three four-game streaks, including by Rodgers during his MVP season of 2014.
Rodgers has thrown three-plus touchdown passes in 10 games this season. Tom Brady set the record with a 12-game streak for New England in 2007, and New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Denver’s Peyton Manning had 11-game streaks in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
With that and the Packers rolling, Rodgers is right in the MVP mix with Patrick Mahomes.
“There’s not many guys that have won three. So, that would definitely mean a lot,” he said on Wednesday.
Dominant Davante
Last week, Davante Adams extended his touchdown streak to eight consecutive games. If he scores again against the Panthers, he would tie Cincinnati’s A.J. Green for the second-longest in-season touchdown-catch streak in NFL history. San Francisco legend Jerry Rice owns that record with a 12-game streak in 1987; with three games to go, the best Adams can do is 11 games this season.
“I think about scoring touchdowns a lot. I definitely think about that,” Adams said on Wednesday. “What drives me is getting the Super Bowl and ultimately trying to be the best receiver to play this game. That’s how I attack it. That’s how I attack my day-to-day. That translates to touchdowns, which can translate to all that stuff down the road, but I’m just focused on what I need to be focused on.”
Adams has 91 receptions for 1,144 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdown catches. With a big game, he can become the sixth player with at least 100 receptions, 1,200 receiving yards and 15 touchdown receptions in a single season in NFL history. The others: Hall of Famers Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Cris Carter and Rice, plus Antonio Brown in 2018.
Last week, he set the NFL record with an eighth consecutive game of six-plus receptions and one-plus touchdowns. He had shared that record with former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens.
Roster Move
The Packers elevated undrafted rookie guard Zack Johnson from the practice squad to the gameday roster. His first elevation of the year, he will give the Packers an eighth blocker behind the starting five, Jon Runyan and Yosh Nijman.
At FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, Johnson was second-team All-American at right tackle as a junior and first-team All-American at right guard as a senior. He spent camp with the Packers and the entire season on the practice squad.
Close Games
Last year, the Packers went 8-1 in one-score games en route to a 13-3 finish. This year, the Panthers have lost a league-worst seven one-score games en route to their 4-9 record.
“It’s definitely a hump that we want to get over,” Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater said. “And we're capable of getting over. We just have to execute when that situation comes. And it starts with me being better in those situations.”
The Packers are aware of Carolina’s predicament. Despite the records, they say they know this will be a tough battle.
“A lot of people say, ‘You are what your record is,’" safety Adrian Amos said. "But if you look every year, you can find two teams, one may be 11-5 and the other one may be 5-11, and the difference is those teams winning close games. That’s what the league is: You have to win those tight games. When you get one of those teams like this that’s lost a lot of games by one (possession), you know that they’re not a pushover team.”
Extra Points
– As noted by Panthers.com writer Darin Gantt: Rodgers has thrown 39 touchdown passes in 13 games this season. Panthers quarterbacks Kyle Allen (17 last year), Bridgewater (14 this year) and P.J. Walker (one this year) have thrown 32 over 29 games the past two seasons.
– Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s son is named Bryant Vincent Rhule in honor of legendary coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Vince Lombardi.
– With a win, Packers coach Matt LaFleur would improve to 24-6 in 30 career games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only George Seifert (27) and Hall of Famers Guy Chamerlin (26) and Paul Brown (25) won more. Hall of Famer George Halas and former Packers assistant Steve Mariucci also won 24.
– Last week, LaFleur became the 10th coach in NFL history with 10-plus wins and two division titles in his first two seasons.
Countdown to Kickoff
Four Views from Inside the Panthers
Final Countdown: Is Defense Decent or Disaster? Yes.
Aaron Rodgers' Long-Shot MVP Candidacy
Davante Adams and the Triple Crown
