The NFC North is a dog-eat-dog place, and the Packers’ 4-3 record has them sitting last in the division heading into Week 8.
Their three-game winning streak came to an end against the Lions last week, and perhaps correcting a couple of botched kicks could have saved them.
Nevertheless, the Packers have remained competitive against all classes of opponents.
They take to Lambeau Field on “Thursday Night Football” as 3.5-point favorites against the Panthers, who, at 3-3, lead the NFC South.
Carolina has been one of the NFL’s most bemusing teams.
It’s been good for a surprise or two, hanging a healthy 26.5 points per game while a porous run defense and pass protection for Bryce Young have hurt the Panthers.
Panthers vs. Packers prediction, best bet
In Sunday’s 43-13 shellacking to the Buccaneers, Young was sacked five times and pressured on 51.5 percent of his dropbacks. He’s faced pressure on a league-high 44.3 percent of dropbacks against four or fewer rushers this season, and the Panthers just lost starting right tackle Taylor Moton to a season-ending injury.
Green Bay’s defense has generated seven of its league-leading nine interceptions without blitzing, which will help the Packers to pressure Young without sacrificing coverage against Carolina’s pass-heavy attack.
Besides, the Panthers’ passing game has also shown signs of regression. Young has completed fewer than 55 percent of his passes in three of his last four starts.
There’s no mincing words regarding the Packers’ run game — it’s been catastrophically bad, ranking dead-last in yards per carry with 2.9.
The fortunate note is that star running back Josh Jacobs only made his season debut last week, and although the running game remained stagnant, he still posted 93 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown.
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Now, Jacobs gets a shot to find a stride against a Panthers run defense that has surrendered a league-high 5.2 yards per carry, including 258 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Tampa Bay last week.
The Packers fell to the Panthers last year, 16-13, as 13.5-point favorites. A second-ranked defense in EPA per play over the last four weeks gives enough reason that they won’t let history repeat itself at Lambeau.
THE PLAY: Packers -3.5 (-105, bet365)
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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
