5 Key Things to Know About Lions vs. Panthers in Week 4

The Panthers’ offense was pretty quiet last weekend in a loss at Cleveland. That should change on Sunday night at home against the defensively-challenged Lions.

Sep 27, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales speaks with referees during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A season ago, the Carolina Panthers finished 8-9 and wound up winning the NFC South for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions’ 9-8 resume was good enough for last place in the NFC North.

In 2026, Dave Canales’s club is off to a 1-2 start with losses to the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. In between, the Panthers rolled the Falcons in Atlanta, 34-3, in Week 2.

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Dan Campbell’s club has won two if its first three contests, and has scored exactly 31 points in each of their first three outings. Only the Buffalo Bills (101) and San Francisco 49ers (98) have totaled more points that Detroit (93), which has also given up a league-high 31.7 points per game.

Canales’s team is extremely banged up, especially at wide receiver and at cornerback. Can the host Panthers keep pace with one of the premier offenses in the league on Sunday night?

Panthers vs. Lions History

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There’s not a lot of backstory when it comes to this series due to the fact the Panthers’ first season in the league was 1995, as well as the fact that these clubs are obviously in two different divisions.

This will mark just the 13th meeting between two teams that first met in 1999. Still, Carolina has won eight of the previous 12 encounters, although the Panthers fell at Ford Field, 42-24, back in 2023 the last time the clubs met.

What’s particularly interesting is that while Detroit came away with a 24-9 victory at Charlotte in ’99 in the teams’ first encounter, the Lions have lost six consecutive road games in this series dating back to 2002. The last clash between the club at Bank of America Stadium came in Week 16 of 2022, a 37-23 Panthers’ victory in which Carolina gained a team-record 570 total yards of offense.

Panthers need more balance on offense

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Detroit’s defense is giving up the second-most total yards per game in the league (416.7). However, the Lions’ pass rush has managed to total 12 sacks—led by two-time Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson (3.5). The Panthers will be minus left guard Damien Lewis. Rookie right tackle Monroe Freeling faces a big challenge.

Carolina has the NFL’s top-ranked passing game, averaging 295.7 yards per contest. Quarterback Bryce Young has already thrown seven TD passes, compared to a pair of picks. However, the ground game is averaging only 97.0 yards per game. The team has run the ball fewer than 25 times in all three contests.

Lions’ RB Jahmyr Gibbs Bears Watching

Jahmyr Gibbs takes it into the end zone himself 💪@NYJvsDET on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/yad3HrCqGu

— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

He entered Week 4 ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (307), second in the league in total yards from scrimmage (463) and tied for the NFL lead with six TDs. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs has scored half (6) of Detroit’s dozen offensive trips to the end zone this season, just ahead of Amon-Ra St. Brown (5).

Minus starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff could be primed for a human being. Along with St. Brown, there’s wideout Jameson Williams, and tight end Sam LaPorta. Keep a close eye on Panthers’ cornerbacks Akayleb Evans, Chau Smith-Wade, and rookie Will Lee III.