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Thursday Night Football Picks: Carolina Panthers vs Green Bay Packers Best Bets

by Ryan Cobbett - 10/28/2026

Thursday Night Football picks Carolina Panthers vs Green Bay Packers Bryce Young

This week’s Thursday Night Matchup features two teams coming off of two very different, yet disappointing, losses. The Carolina Panthers will travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. Carolina comes into this matchup with a 3-3 record, after getting pummeled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who excitedly welcomed Baker Mayfield under center. Green Bay, on the other hand, is coming off a three-point loss to division foe Detroit, thanks to a walk-off field goal by the Lions. One of the bigger storylines heading into this matchup is that, while both teams are on a short week, the Green Bay offensive line is banged up. While both teams are facing some injuries, the potential loss in the trenches for Green Bay is definitely enough to swing this game in favor of Carolina, who already has a winning record on the road.

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Thursday Night Football Carolina Panthers vs Green Bay Packers Game Odds:

Carolina Panthers: +7 / Moneyline: +154

Green Bay Packers: -7/ Moneyline: -185

Over/Under: 47.5

Thursday Night Football Carolina Panthers Game Preview

The Carolina Panthers are coming off a 30-point blowout loss to Tampa Bay. Carolina gave up 22 points on turnovers and special teams blunders. Carolina lost the turnover battle, and Tampa Bay had the ball for nearly 12 more minutes. Bryce Young had a below average performance, throwing two interceptions and just 163 passing yards. The ground game was effective, though the volume wasn’t there as the turnovers kept Tampa Bay’s offense on the field. Overall, the Panthers’ offense has improved since last year. They rank fifth in YPG, averaging over 381 YPG, and sixth in scoring as they average 26.5 PPG. Defensively, Carolina has allowed nearly 28 PPG and nearly 350 YPG. They will have to shore up some things defensively ahead of their matchup against Green Bay.

One of the biggest blows of last week’s abysmal performance is the fact that the Panthers have now lost offensive tackle Taylor Moton to a broke fibula. After already giving up five sacks last week, the Panthers now have to plan for Green Bay’s pass rush short-handed, and in a short week. While the Packers do rank more in the middle of the league in sacks, there is a lot of explosive potential on their defensive line, and it could really keep Young uncomfortable all game. Another big thing for this offense to accomplish here is to get the ground game going again. While they average nearly five YPC against Tampa Bay, they only rushed the ball 18 times due to the large deficit. Carolina needs to get the run game established and take some of the pressure off of Young. On defense, a similar blueprint exists. The Panthers need to take advantage of the Packers offensive line issues and attack.

Carolina Panthers 3 Keys to Victory

  1. Protect Bryce Young
  2. Run, Run, Run
  3. Attack the Weakened Green Bay Offensive Line

Carolina Panthers Injuries

OT Taylor Moton – IR

LB Jordan Phillips – Questionable

CB Akayleb Evans – Questionable

G Torricelli Simpkins III – Questionable

G Damien Lewis - Questionable

Thursday Night Football Green Bay Packers Game Preview

The Green Bay Packers also dropped a disappointing game last Sunday. And while it wasn’t a blowout, the loss has sunk to the bottom of the NFC North standings. One of the biggest issues for Green Bay was their inability to finish drives and put more points on the board. While this should have been more of a shootout, the Lions defense was able to bend but not break. Green Bay was outgained by 91 yards, and the Lions were able to take away the run game. The Packers also suffered from 81 penalty yards. Josh Jacobs’ return didn’t boost the run game, as he was held to just 36 rushing yards on 11 carries. Jordan Love threw the ball 45 times and finished with 27 completions, 274 passing yards, and two touchdowns.

While the game itself was disappointing, the Packers still return home with a winning record and a chance to take on a far inferior offense. The biggest storyline for the Packers is the performance of their offensive line. They will be without Jacob Monk and Sean Rhyan in this one, and they have two other offensive linemen showing up on the injury report, though they are listed as questionable. Another factor in this one will be whether or not Green Bay can finish drives in this one. The Packers looked like they had chances to win the game against Detroit, but the Lions were able to get stops when they needed to. Carolina’s defense is a bit better than Detroit’s, so Love and the offense have to find the endzone. Field goals won’t cut it.

Green Bay Packers 3 Keys to Victory

  1. Finish Drives
  2. Next Man Up Mentality for the Offensive Line
  3. Keep the Offense from Getting One Dimensional

Green Bay Packers Injuries

DT Devonte Wyatt – Questionable

G Sean Rhyan – Out

DE Brenton Cox Jr. – Questionable

WR Matthew Golden – Questionable

G Aaron Banks – Questionable

OT Travis Glover – Questionable

DT Anthony Campbell – Questionable

C Jacob Monk – IR

LB Zaire Franklin - Doubtful

Thursday Night Football Game Predictions

I think the offensive line issues will be a huge factor for both offenses, and with that I expect there to be a lower scoring game. If Detroit can hold Green Bay to 17 points, Carolina shouldn’t give up much more. I like Carolina to cover in this one, but I am not sold on the win. If the secondary can shut down Love and make him uncomfortable (especially with the weakened offensive line), Carolina will keep this a one possession game. Green Bay is the better team, but the Panthers have had success on the road as they have a +39-point differential through three away contests. Low scoring game, Panthers may not close it out, but it will be a close one. 

My Pick: Carolina, +7 / Under 47.5

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