4 Things the Panthers Have to Fix With Extra Time After Packers Loss

The Carolina Panthers could probably use a few days where they don't have to play football.

They just played twice in five days, lost both games and picked up a few more injuries Thursday night against Green Bay. Now they don't play again until Nov. 8 against Denver, and the timing of the break isn't bad for a team that suddenly has a lot to figure out.

Carolina looked like it was starting to put some things together a couple of weeks ago. After what we've watched against Tampa Bay and Green Bay, I'm not so sure anymore. Here are four things I'd spend some time on before the Panthers play again.

1. Find Somebody Who Can Play Corner

I don't know how many more cornerbacks Carolina can lose. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are already on injured reserve, and the Panthers placed Akayleb Evans on IR before the Green Bay game. Then Will Lee III injured his hamstring Thursday night and had to be carted to the locker room.

That left Chau Smith-Wade, Marco Wilson and Malcolm DeWalt IV as the three healthy corners by the end of the game. DeWalt was making his NFL debut, and Green Bay took advantage of a secondary that was running out of people. Jordan Love threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while Christian Watson caught eight passes for 113 yards.

I know Carolina can't just go find another Jaycee Horn sitting at home somewhere, but I'd be surprised if the Panthers don't at least look around over the next week. They need bodies at this point, especially if Lee is going to miss any time.

2. Get the Offensive Line Back Together

Carolina isn't in much better shape up front. The Panthers placed Taylor Moton on injured reserve after the Tampa Bay game, Damien Lewis missed Thursday with a knee injury and Corey Bullock left against Green Bay with a quad injury. Jake Curhan ended up at left guard after being elevated from the practice squad.

Bryce Young was sacked six times, and there were a few plays where it felt like Green Bay was on him almost immediately. Young held onto the football too long on some of them, so I'm not putting all six sacks on the offensive line. Still, it's hard to get much going when you're moving guys around up front and your quarterback is getting hit that often.

Getting Lewis back would help. Moton is going to be out for a while, so there's not much Carolina can do about that right now, but I'd like to see the Panthers come out of the extra time with some idea of what they want the offensive line to look like against Denver.

3. Find Out Where the Offense Went

jalen coker — Oct 29, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker (18) makes a catch against the Green Bay Packers in the second half at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Carolina scored 30 points against Detroit, 34 against Atlanta and then went into Philadelphia and scored 25. It wasn't perfect, but I thought we were starting to see what this offense could look like when Young was playing well and Carolina stayed balanced.

Then the last two games happened. The Panthers scored 13 against Tampa Bay and 19 against Green Bay, and Thursday was especially frustrating because the defense kept giving the offense chances. Green Bay turned the ball over three times, and Carolina got only three points out of those possessions.

Some of it is the offensive line. Some of it is Young, who hasn't played particularly well the last two games. There also haven't been enough plays downfield, and at times it feels like Carolina has to work way too hard just to pick up a first down.

If I'm Dave Canales, I'm going back and looking at what was working against Detroit, Atlanta and Philadelphia and comparing it to what we're seeing now. This offense shouldn't look this different a couple of weeks later.

4. Keep Giving Chuba Hubbard the Ball

I liked what Carolina did with Chuba Hubbard on Thursday. Hubbard carried it 22 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, but what stood out to me was the seven catches for 38 yards. He finished with 29 touches and 119 yards from scrimmage on a night when Carolina didn't have much else working.

I especially liked seeing him used more in the passing game. Young was getting pressured and there wasn't much happening downfield, so Hubbard gave him somewhere to go with the football instead of waiting for something to open up. Seven catches might be more than he'll normally have, but there's no reason Carolina can't keep using him that way.

Hubbard doesn't need 29 touches every week. The Panthers just need to make sure one of their most dependable offensive players doesn't disappear from the game plan when things aren't going well.

Carolina is 3-4 after losing twice in five days, and the Panthers look a lot different than they did after going into Philadelphia and beating the Eagles. Injuries have certainly played a part in that, and having to turn around and play Green Bay four days after Tampa Bay didn't help.

This time, they have more than four days to figure some of it out.

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