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Rob Demovsky
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Here’s the formula for the Green Bay Packers to stifle their own offense: Make a questionable fourth-down decision, commit mistake after mistake in the red zone and then lose perhaps the most productive player in the passing game.
Check, check and check.
That trifecta came to fruition in Sunday’s unsightly 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers, who came to Lambeau Field as a 13.5-point underdog.
And they did most of it to themselves. Outside of some occasional pressure on quarterback Jordan Love, the Panthers had less to do with the Packers’ offensive woes than Love, coach Matt LaFleur and the rest of the home team.
The Packers converted only one of their five trips to the red zone into a touchdown — one of those a curious decision by LaFleur on a fourth-and-8 play from the Panthers’ 13-yard line — and looked nothing like the offense that came in ranked tied for fifth in the NFL in points scored.
“It’s going to be tough if we can’t figure s— out and score in the red [zone],” LaFleur said. “It’s just going to be tough to win football games like that.”
In the process, they lost tight end Tucker Kraft — who lead them in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches coming in — to a likely torn ACL in his right knee after a third-quarter collision. They also finished the game without rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden after the receiver dropped out because of a shoulder injury.
Perhaps what happened Sunday will jolt the Packers’ offense back to the juggernaut it looked like in their 40-point outburst against the Dallas Cowboys in the Week 4 tie, but not if they repeat this performance.
Sunday’s problems started with rookie receiver Savion Williams‘ fumble at the Panthers’ 15-yard line on the opening drive, which wiped out a likely scoring opportunity.
We’ll take that ball back
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/HXvnH7kNad
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 2, 2025
What followed were a pair of field goal drives, including one in which the Packers had a second down at the Carolina 14-yard line only to be pushed back by two false starts sandwiched around Love being sacked.
That was before LaFleur decided not to try what would have been a 31-yard chip-shot field goal with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter that would have cut Carolina’s lead to 13-9.
Instead, after a timeout, LaFleur sent Love and the offense back out, and the result was disastrous. Under pressure, Love scrambled right and then left before he heaved a prayer across the field that had no chance.
“I wish we would’ve taken the points,” LaFleur said. “Didn’t do that there. Yeah, bad decision.”
Running back Josh Jacobs, who rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown, believed LaFleur went for it because he felt the offense needed a spark.
“It was one of those games where we was flat on offense, so something to help us out a little bit and get over the hump was maybe going for it and see how it goes,” Jacobs said. “That was probably my thought of going for it on fourth down.”
For the first time all season, Love failed to throw a touchdown pass.
“Matt made a decision on that one,” Love said. “He wanted to try and put up a touchdown and, obviously, it didn’t work out.”
Love also gave away a possession with an ill-advised deep shot for Christian Watson, who was triple covered. It made for an easy interception by Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig in the third quarter.
Big play Tre back at it again
📺: Fox pic.twitter.com/qJD3VXUvC7
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) November 2, 2025
“I wanted to throw one past them, and the back-side safety was playing cloud and I didn’t see him,” Love said. “He was able to push over. We didn’t have anyone holding him back side, so he was able to push over and it was pretty much like a punt return.
It was like a punt return only if you decided to punt on first down.
“Just a bad decision,” Love added.
Even though the Packers came into Sunday’s game in the top 10 in points, yards and passing yards per game and still sit atop the NFC North at 5-2-1, their slow starts have been problematic. They haven’t scored more than seven points in the first half of any of their past three games.
Now, they have the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (6-2) up next.
“We understand what kind of team we are when everything is clicking,” said Watson, who caught two passes for 58 yards. “But it’s getting to the point where we’re going to have to start eliminating those and not having any of those mistakes, for sure.”
