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Ickey Ekwonu deserves more credit for shutting down Micah Parsons

The Panthers upset the Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Carolina’s left tackle played a major role in cooling off Micah Parsons and Green Bay’s pass rush.
Russell Baxter|
Jun 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) during minicamp at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Jun 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) during minicamp at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

It’s one of the bigger surprises of the 2025 NFL season to date. The improving Carolina Panthers were humbled at home by the Buffalo Bills, 40-9, and now headed to Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers were in the midst of a three-game winning streak and owned the NFC’s best record at 5-1-1.

Quarterback Bryce Young was back for Dave Canales’s team after missing the Bills’ game with a high ankle sprain. In the 31-point loss to Buffalo, backup Andy Dalton was sacked seven times. Now the Panthers’ offensive line would have to deal with Green Bay’s 1-2 edge-rushing punch of Rashan Gary (7.5) and most notably, Micah Parsons (6.5 sacks). The duo had combined for 14 of Green Bay’s 21 quarterback traps in their first seven games.

Led by left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, Canales’s offensive front was more than up to the task.

The Packers’ lone sack of the afternoon came via safety Xavier McKinney, who was Green Bay’s best defensive player in his team’s 16-13 loss. Meanwhile, Parsons was kept very much under wraps by Ekwonu. The former Dallas Cowboys’ star finished with one solo tackle, two assists and zero sacks.

Via the fine folks at Pro Football Focus, Ekwonu is enjoying his best season to date via a career-high 72.5 grade. A look at his yearly marks shows that the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft has made improvement each year he’s been in the league.

It’s been a rough year for the Carolina offensive front in terms of injuries, but their depth has paid off. Ekwonu missed the season opener at Jacksonville, but he has been in the starting lineup ever since and hasn’t missed an offensive snap in his eight appearances.

Along with giving up just the one sack, the Panthers’ line opened up holes for Rico Dowdle (130 yards and 2 touchdowns) and finished the afternoon with 163 yards on the ground—the most allowed by the Packers’ defense this season.

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Russell Baxter
RUSSELL BAXTER

Russell S. Baxter has been writing and researching the game of football for more than 40 years, and on numerous platforms. That includes television, as he spent more than two decades at ESPN, and was part of shows that garnered five Emmy Awards. He also spent the 2015 NFL season with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFLN.