After suffering their first loss of the 2015-16 season on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers will look to quickly put themselves back on the win column when they collide with Cam Newton and the rest of the Carolina Panthers this weekend at the Bank of America Stadium.Who will reign supreme in this one? Will the Packers bounce back? Or will the Panthers stay undefeated?
Read on further for a detailed breakdown of this promising clash between two powerhouse teams. And while you’re at it, check out our other NFL Week 9 previews: Titans at Saints and Falcons at 49ers.
Green Bay’s perfect record this season came to bitter end at the hands of the still-unbeaten Broncos, 29-10, on Sunday night. The Packers’ supposedly fearsome offense was evidently disrupted by Denver’s stingy defense as they were limited to a season-low of 140 total yards (50 passing yards and 90 rushing yards) and just 10 points by the end of regulation.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Even the reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers showed his human side in this one with a forgettable performance. He was forced into one of the worst games of his life, completing 14 of his 22 passes for only 77 yards and zero touchdowns while being sacked three times. This performance was the lowest of his career in a game where the 32-year-old quarterback wasn’t knocked out by an injury.
Now, the Packers would be smart to use this downfall as a learning experience and use it to help them bounce back for their next games. They’re definitely going to need all the help that they can as they’ll be facing another undefeated team in the form of the Carolina Panthers this weekend.
For them to avoid another setback, the responsibility clearly falls on Rodgers to lead the team in relocating their formidable offense. The best way to do so would be to make sure that the pair of wide receivers in James Jones and Randall Cobb, who have a combined 803 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on the year, get enough touches in exposing the Panthers’ shaky secondary (229.8 passing yards allowed per contest).
The Packers also have the luxury of having Eddie Lacy ignite their ground game. Lacy, who was held to 38 yards on 11 rushes against Denver, is averaging 4.4 yards per carry through three road games this season.
Green Bay is 6-4 SU and ATC in its previous 10 games on the road.
The Carolina Panthers are still the only unbeaten team in the NFC right now. They improved to 7-0 for the first time in franchise history after a nail-biting 29-26 overtime win over the feisty Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. That win also gave them more breathing room over the Falcons for first place in their division.
It’s worth noting, though, that the Panthers had to really fight to get the victory. They had the lead all-game-long but needed an overtime period to seal the deal via a game-winning 52-yard field goal from Graham Cano. Quarterback Cam Newton had a decent performance in this one, passing for 248 yards with two scores under his name.
The Panthers now set their sights on a very interesting Week 9, wherein the Green Bay Packers will be paying them a visit at Bank of America Stadium this time around. The key for them would be to capitalize on the Packers’ struggles in defending against the rush (124.4 yards allowed per game).
In order to do so, they’ll be heavily depending on their No. 1 running back in Jonathan Stewart, who has been sensational for his team throughout this season, to take charge in leading their ground attack that’s averaging an NFL-best 144.0 yards per contest. Stewart owns a team-high of 423 yards with a pair of touchdowns this year and rumbled for a game-high 82 yards on 22 rushes versus the Colts.
Meanwhile, tight end Greg Olsen cannot be left unnoticed. Olsen has been the Panthers’ main weapon on the air, as he currently leads them with 439 receiving yards and has three touchdowns to his name after seven games thus far. He’s also reached the 100-yard mark twice during that stretch.
Carolina is 4-6 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 meetings with Green Bay.
Writer’s Prediction
It’s hard to see Aaron Rodgers losing two weeks in a row. He’ll definitely be on his A-game all throughout this matchup to lead the Packers to a thrilling victory over the Panthers. They don’t cover the spread, however.
