Why the loss to Green Bay shows how good the Panthers are

The Carolina Panthers held their own at Lambeau.

This past Sunday the Carolina Panthers went into Lambeau Field to take on Aaron Rodgers and the then 7-2 Packers. Carolina had just came off a big win vs the Titans at home and was looking to keep the momentum going.

The game was everything you expect, a game in Green Bay to be: cold, snowing, and tough. The Packers pass rush has been much better this year than last so that was a challenge for Carolina to deal with. Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith have combined for 18.5 sacks this year.

Combine that with Rodgers who is always considered one the top tier QBs and Aaron Jones who has a combined 14 touchdowns  and this makes the Packers one of the best teams in the NFL this season.  Despite all of this , Carolina came to make a statement.

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Kyle Allen threw for his first 300-yard game of his career with 307 yards, more passing yards than Aaron Rodgers 233. Christian McCaffery went for over 100 yards again with 108 yards, outrushing Aaron Jones; 93 yards. To cap it off D.J. Moore had 120 yards, better than Davante Adams 118 yards in the game. These stats show Carolina can hold their on for sure, so how did they lose?

Carolina allowed three rushing touchdowns to Aaron Jones and Allen had one interception and one lost fumble. It’s that simple. Green Bay had no turnovers.

Against the top teams in the league you can’t make any mistakes and not force any mistakes, in spite of it all,  the game came down to this last drive in which McCaffery was stopped just inches from a touchdown . It would have made the score 22-24,  giving the Panthers a chance to go for two and tie the ball game.

Despite the defeat, his game even in a loss shows the Panthers can hold their own against the top teams in the NFL. They got embarrassed against the 49ers in week 8, 13-51 and we started to question whether this team could compete come playoff time. I absolutely think the Panthers can hold their own. With games vs the Saints, Colts, and Seahawks left this season, they will have a few more opportunities to prove it.

This Sunday they will be taking on a Falcons team in Carolina that just upset the Saints and will be looking for another statement win.