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Bryce Young, Zakee Wheatley Among Panthers' Winners and Losers from Thursday Night Loss to Packers
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- Bryce Young, Zakee Wheatley Among Panthers' Winners and Losers from Thursday Night Loss to Packers
The Carolina Panthers had an opportunity to get back in the win column on Thursday night.
Unfortunately, that didn't end up happening, as the Panthers fell to the Packers 27-19 at Lambeau Field. It wasn't a great showing by the Panthers, as the pass defense was carved up, and the offensive line was completely dominated.
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This is one of those frustrating losses that exposes the team's flaws. Now, let's dive in and identify the biggest winners and losers.
Loser: Bryce Young
Oct 29, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) reacts against the Green Bay Packers in the second half at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Young had his worst game of the season last weekend, and he was unable to bounce back on Thursday. The quarterback barely completed half of his passes and ended with 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
It's not all on Bryce, though. The offensive line was horrible and allowed six sacks and nine quarterback hits. This is a game that Young is going to want to forget.
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Winner: Chuba Hubbard
At least Chuba Hubbard came to play. The veteran ended with 81 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, to go with seven catches for 38 yards. Hubbard did all he could to do to keep the Panthers in this game.
Loser: Offensive Line
The Panthers have a massive offensive line problem. Monroe Freeling, Luke Fortner, and Rasheed Walker have been awful. The injuries are just the cherry on top .
As mentioned above, the Packers racked up six sacks and nine quarterback hits. Young was pressured on over half of his dropbacks . In fact, the 22 pressures Young faced tie the most he's ever faced in a game.
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Winner: Zakee Wheatley
Coming into this game, we mentioned that Zakee Wheatley has been the best rookie on the team. On TNF, Wheatley made that even more obvious, as he's one of the only defenders who had a good game.
Wheatley ended with seven tackles, one pass breakup, and one interception. Wheatley is starting to look like a real building block.
Loser: Secondary
We shouldn't be too critical of this secondary because injuries are the main problem . The Panthers entered yesterday with Chau Smith-Wade and Will Lee III as the only healthy corners on the active roster.
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On TNF, the team was forced to give Marco Wilson and Malcolm DeWalt IV significant snaps, which tells you a lot. Jordan Love carved this unit up for 288 yards and three touchdowns.
Loser: Dan Morgan
General manager Dan Morgan should be very disturbed by what he saw last night. That game should have shown Morgan that he did not do a good enough job with the depth on this team.
Injuries are nobody's fault, but the Panthers fall apart when a couple of key players are out, and that shouldn't happen. This game needs to be Morgan's wake-up call that he needs to make some changes.
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Oct 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
