The Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers will face off in a Week 10 NFC matchup on Sunday. Carolina is coming off a 10-point win over Tennessee, while the Packers enter off a surprising loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Moving On
The Panthers enter Week 10 at 5-3, looking ahead to the end of the season after placing starting quarterback Cam Newton on injured reserve this week with a nagging foot injury. Kyle Allen will continue to take the starting role for Newton as he has since Week 3.
Allen has thrown for 1,291 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions since stepping in for the Panthers this year. With the help of players around him like Christian McCaffrey, Allen has adjusted well and led this team to some solid wins already this year, proving to be a serviceable backup and potential NFL starter.
The star of the Panthers and potential NFL MVP, McCaffrey has been outstanding this season. It’s hard to know if the Panthers would have more than one win if he wasn’t leading the way. McCaffrey currently has 881 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground. He has contributed in the passing game as well, reeling in 42 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.
The Panthers have been up and down all season, and their stats reflect it. They have posted 26 points per game this year while allowing 25.5. They have also averaged 365 yards on offense per game while giving up 384. This has kept them from really taking off this season and leave them hanging right around .500.
It is worth noting that the Panthers lost their first two games of the season with Newton as their starter, and since Allen has stepped in, they have gone 5-1, with their only loss coming against the undefeated 49ers. A win here against the Packers could really push their season in the right direction.
Bouncing Back
Just when the Packers seemed to have everything going in the right direction, they took a surprising loss against a so-so Chargers team on the road last week where they just never seemed to get things off the ground. They lost 26-11, which was the second-fewest points they have scored in a game all season.
The Packers have an MVP-caliber player on their offense as well in quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will be looking to bounce back and have a big game in front of his home crowd. Rodgers has put together a great season under his new head coach, Matt LaFleur, throwing for 2,485 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
A big part of the Packers’ success this year, and another thing that could really be taking the workload off Rodgers’ back, is their running game. The Packers have not had a threat like Aaron Jones at the running back position in a long time. Jones exploded earlier this season in Dallas and has not looked back. In fact, with the injuries all season to Devonte Adams, Jones’ increase in production has been even more necessary for Green Bay. Jones has answered the call with 122 carries for 496 yards and eight touchdowns this season.
What to Expect
Coming off a tough loss and being back at home, I expect the Packers to be at full force and ready to show Green Bay what they have in store for the rest of the season. While Allen has been solid and McCaffrey is going to get his yards, the Packers defense has played much better this year, and I don’t think the Panthers can keep Rodgers out of the end zone enough to win this one on the road.
