Live Updates: Packers 24, Panthers 16
Follow along for updates from today's game at Lambeau Field between the Carolina Panthers (5-3) at Green Bay Packers (7-2) and join the conversation. The latest news will be at the end of the story.
Inactives
The Packers will be at almost full strength for today’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander (groin), who was added to the injury report on Friday, and safety Adrian Amos (hamstring), who did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, were listed as questionable but are active. Also active is safety Ibraheim Campbell, who was added to the 53-man roster this week and will play in his first game since suffering a torn ACL against Arizona on Dec. 2.
The only player of note who is inactive is tight end Robert Tonyan, who will miss a fifth consecutive game with a hip injury.
The other inactives: receiver Ryan Grant, cornerbacks Ka’Dar Hollman and Josh Jackson, offensive linemen Cole Madison and Adam Pankey, and running back Dexter Williams.
Meanwhile, Carolina will be without starting cornerback James Bradberry (groin). Bradberry, who is tied for the team lead with three interceptions, is the one who forced the Geronimo Allison fumble that doomed the Packers' comeback at Carolina in 2017. Ross Cockrell will get the start.
Video: Za'Darius Smith talks run defense and cold weather
Baby, it's cold outside
The kickoff temperature is supposed to be 32, making this the first (sort of) cold-weather game of the season.
Since the start of the 2010 season, the Packers are 17-6-1 in games with a kickoff temperature of 32 or colder. That .729 winning percentage is fourth in the league and third among teams with more than one cold-weather game. However, they’re 2-3 since the start of the 2017 season, though all three of those losses came with Aaron Rodgers on the bench.
“I don’t think you ever get used to it,” receiver Davante Adams said. “I think you learn how to deal with it, and there’s tricks to the trade. Obviously, we get to practice in it and live in it, probably a little bit more than Carolina. We’re going to use it to our advantage. We’re obviously going to get it in and practice when it’s 20, 30 or whatever it is. Hopefully, that will help us out.”
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Inside the Panthers: Big-play D, McCaffrey, Allen, LBs
Two-minute drill: The bounce-back Pack
IT'S GAME TIME
First quarter
Packers 0, Panthers 0 (9:52 remaining)
Green Bay’s offense started this game much like it started last week at the Chargers. After a 9-yard run by Aaron Jones in which he was a shoestring tackle from going the distance, tight end Jimmy Graham was flagged for a false start and receiver Allen Lazard dropped a third-and-3 pass. A poor punt by slumping JK Scott gave the Panthers the ball at their 47.
Panthers 7, Packers 0 (7:18 remaining)
The score: Quarterback Kyle Allen booted to his right and hit receiver Curtis Samuel for a 2-yard touchdown against safety Darnell Savage.
Key play: On first down from the 47, Allen went play-action and hit D.J. Moore, who was wide open against the Packers’ zone defense, for a catch-and-run gain of 38 yards to the 15.
Packers 7, Panthers 7 (3:35 remaining)
The score: Aaron Jones scored on a 5-yard run. The Packers used a fake jet-sweep action to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and handed it to Jones, who ran through a tackle attempt by linebacker Shaq Thompson.
Key plays: On third-and-9 from the 39, Aaron Rodgers extended the play to his right and fired a laser to receiver Allen Lazard, who made a diving catch at the 20. On the next play, Davante Adams made a fingertip grab on a crossing route for a gain of 15 to the 5.
Second quarter
Panthers 10, Packers 7 (14:55 remaining)
The score: Joey Slye made a 50-yard field goal on the first play of the quarter.
Key plays: Two miscues by the defense put the Panthers in scoring position. First, Christian McCaffrey ran through a tackle attempt by outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell, turning a potential no gain into a gain of 18. On the next play, tight end Greg Olsen was uncovered for a gain of 16. However, on third-and-10, the Packers sniffed out a screen to McCaffrey for a loss of 3.
Panthers 10, Packers 7 (12:40 remaining)
The Panthers had a chance to take control. First, on the previous possession, a phantom pass-interference call on receiver Allen Lazard ruined a Packers drive. After another poor punt by JK Scott gave the Panthers the ball at their 45, quarterback Kyle Allen and center Matt Paradis botched the snap. Defensive tackle Montravius Adams recovered at Green Bay’s 48.
Packers 14, Panthers 10 (9:20 remaining)
The score: Aaron Jones burrowed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. His second score of the game gave him 13 for the season, tying Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey for the league lead.
Key play: Set up by the aforementioned botched snap, Aaron Rodgers fired a missile up the right sideline for a gain of 37 to Davante Adams. Cornerback Ross Cockrell, who was starting for injured James Bradberry, hardly could have been in better position. That gave Green Bay a first-and-goal at the 10.
Packers 14, Panthers 10 at halftime
Will this be the sequence of the game?
Starting at its 10 with 5:07 remaining, Green Bay had two huge plays on third down on its final possession of the first half. First, on third-and-13 from their 7, Aaron Rodgers was forced to throw away the ball but defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was flagged for roughing the passer for falling on Rodgers with his full body weight. Rodgers caught the flag while lying on his back. Then, on third-and-6, tight end Jimmy Graham broke wide open over the middle. He ran through a pair of soft tackle attempts from safeties Eric Reid and Tre Boston for a gain of 48 to the Panthers’ 26. On third-and-goal at the 7, a pair of defensive penalties gave Green Bay a first-and-goal at the 1 with 2 seconds remaining. Packers coach Matt LaFleur elected to send his offense on the field. After a Carolina timeout, LaFleur kept his offense on the field but lined up with a different formation. McCoy got his revenge for the somewhat-dubious penalty by splitting left guard Elgton Jenkins and left tackle David Bakhtiari and drilling running back Jamaal Williams.
Video: Parachuting into Lambeau
Third quarter
Packers 21, Panthers 10 (11:50 remaining)
The score: Aaron Jones burst up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown, breaking a tackle around the 5 and cruising in for his third score of the game. The touchdown gave Jones the NFL’s touchdown lead, 14-13, over Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey.
Key play: After last week’s game against the Chargers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said the Packers needed one play to get them going in that game but they couldn’t get one on either side of the ball. Well, on second-and-26, the Packers got that play. With Carolina having seized momentum, Rodgers found a wide-open Davante Adams for a gain of 38.
Packers 21, Panthers 10 (7:10 remaining)
With Carolina in scoring position, quarterback Kyle Allen made his first huge blunder of the game. Allen tried to fit a pass to Jarius Wright in the back of the end zone but safety Adrian Amos was in the passing lane. Amos dropped the interception but cornerback Tramon Williams made a diving grab of the rebound.
Packers 24, Panthers 10 (1:21 remaining)
The score: Mason Crosby made a 47-yard field goal. It was a mulligan for Crosby, who was short from 52 but got a second chance after defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was flagged for lining up over long snapper Hunter Bradley.
Key plays: Jamaal Williams had runs of 15, 10 and 16 yards to put the Packers into scoring position. He broke two tackles and gained 21 yards after contact, by our unofficial count.
Fourth quarter
Packers 24, Panthers 16 (11:58 remaining)
The score: Christian McCaffrey tied Aaron Jones for the touchdown lead, easily scoring from the 3. Panthers coach Ron Rivera inexplicably went for two but safety Adrian Amos broke up the pass to tight end Greg Olsen.
Key plays: On third-and-9, quarterback Kyle Allen showed his toughness, taking a shot from Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith but delivering a 15-yard strike to Olsen. Completions of 15 yards to Curtis Samuel and 21 yards to Jarius Wright put the ball in the red zone.
Packers 24, Panthers 16 (6:31 remaining)
An excellent punt by JK Scott pinned the Panthers at their 8. Carolina got one first down but Kyle Allen was buried under an avalanche of Packers. Preston Smith officially was given credit for sack No. 10 but defensive tackle Kenny Clark and safety Ibraheim Campbell were there, too.
Packers 24, Panthers 16 (Final)
On second-and-goal from the 2 with 4 seconds remaining, the Panthers gave it to their MVP candidate, running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was stopped just short by outside linebacker Preston Smith, a ruling that survived an official review. Kyler Fackrell, shuffled into position just before the snap by Blake Martinez, was the first on the scene. And with that, the Packers held on by the skin of their teeth. The drive started at the 11 with 2:25 remaining. Allen converted two third downs and one fourth down but the Packers survived with a red-zone stop despite offside penalties by Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith.
