Packers seeking third straight win as they return home to face Panthers

Carolina (4-4) at Green Bay (5-1-1)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM line: Packers by 13 1/2.

Against the spread: Panthers 5-3; Packers 3-4

Series record: Packers lead 12-6

Last meeting: Packers won 33-30 at Carolina on Dec. 24, 2023.

Last week: Panthers lost 40-9 at home to the Buffalo Bills; Packers won 35-25 at Pittsburgh.

Panthers offense: overall (20), rush (5), pass (29), scoring (27)

Packers offense: overall (7), rush (16), pass (7), scoring (5t)

Panthers defense: overall (11), rush (16), pass (10), scoring (20)

Packers defense: overall (6), rush (3), pass (15), scoring (10)

Turnover differential: Panthers minus-5; Packers plus-1

Panthers player to watch

WR Tetairoa McMillan, the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, is in the midst of a solid season with 37 receptions for 512 yards and two TDs in eight games, while averaging 13.8 yards per catch. The Panthers would like to get him into the end zone more often — one of his specialties while at the University of Arizona — but McMillan has been drawing a lot of double coverage in the red zone.

Packers player to watch

TE Tucker Kraft scored two touchdowns and set career highs in catches (seven) and yards receiving (143) against the Steelers. He has caught a touchdown pass in each of the Packers’ three home games this season. Kraft has 30 receptions for 469 yards and six touchdowns already this season. The only other tight ends ever to have at least 30 catches, 450 yards receiving and six touchdowns and an average of 15.5 yards per reception through the first seven games of a season are Jimmy Graham in 2013 and Rob Gronkowski in 2015.

Key matchup

Panthers running game vs. Packers run defense: Carolina is rushing for 136.9 yards per game to rank fifth in the league. Rico Dowdle had two massive games against Miami and Dallas in which he amassed 473 yards from scrimmage. Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard split carries the past two weeks after Hubbard returned from a calf injury. However, coach Dave Canales has finally admitted that Dowdle’s production has been too great to ignore and appears ready to give him a bigger share of the workload against Green Bay. He has a tough challenge ahead. Green Bay is allowing just 78.9 yards rushing per game to rank third in run defense.

Key injuries

Panthers: The Panthers had three more offensive linemen go down on Sunday with guard Brady Christensen lost for the season to a torn Achilles tendon. Right tackle Taylor (knee) and center Cade Mays (ankle) were also hurt and their status is unclear for Sunday. Moton has a better chance to play than Mays, per coach Canales. The Panthers should get G Chandler Zavala back from IR this week, so that will help.

Packers: DE Lukas Van Ness (foot) and WR Dontayvion Wicks (calf) didn’t play against the Steelers and weren’t practicing early this week.

Series notes

Green Bay won at Carolina on Christmas Eve two seasons ago on a tiebreaking field goal with 19 seconds left after the Panthers had rallied from a 14-point deficit. Carolina’s Bryce Young threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns in that game, while Green Bay’s Jordan Love had two touchdown passes and ran for a third score. … The Packers have won their past three matchups in this series. … The Panthers last beat the Packers 31-24 in 2017 at Carolina. The Panthers’ last win at Lambeau Field was a 35-31 decision in 2008. … The past two times these two teams faced off at Lambeau Field, the Packers won by identical scores of 24-16. Those results came in 2019 and 2020. … Seven of the past eight Packers-Panthers matchups had single-digit margins.

Stats and stuff

The Panthers are 1-3 on the road this season with their only win coming against the then-winless New York Jets in a sloppy game. … QB Bryce Young (ankle) is expected to return to the lineup. He has won three straight starts, the longest streak of his NFL career. … RB Chuba Hubbard scored Carolina’s lone touchdown last week, that coming on a fourth-quarter run against Buffalo with the Panthers down by 37 points. … QB Andy Dalton was sacked seven times on Sunday and had three turnovers against the Bills to fall to 1-6 as a starter since joining the Panthers. … Carolina’s defense had allowed just 131 rushing yards over the span of three games prior to allowing James Cook to run for 216 yards and two TDs last week. … The Packers and Indianapolis Colts (7-1) are the only NFL teams with fewer than two losses. … The Packers haven’t allowed a first-quarter touchdown all season. … The Packers have committed only three turnovers to match the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL’s lowest total. .. Packers QB Jordan Love is coming off a performance in which he threw 20 straight completions to tie Brett Favre’s franchise record. Love, the reigning NFC offensive player of the week, ended up throwing for 360 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers. … Kraft’s 143 yards receiving against the Steelers represented the second-highest, single-game total by any Packers tight end. Richard Rodgers had 146 yards receiving against Detroit on Dec. 3, 2015. … Packers DE Rashan Gary has 7 1/2 sacks to rank fifth in the league and Micah Parsons is sixth with 6 1/2. Parsons has a league-high 44 quarterback pressures according to Next Gen Stats. … Packers CB Keiesan Nixon has 11 passes defensed to rank second in the league, behind only Cincinnati’s D.J. Turner (13).

Fantasy tip

Now that Canales has indicated he plans to give Dowdle the bulk of Carolina’s carries after having him split the work with Hubbard, fantasy team owners who have either player on their roster should plan accordingly.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl