4 promising signs for the Panthers at Packers in Week 15

What were the positive signs during the Carolina Panthers’ loss at the Packers?

It was another defeat for the Carolina Panthers. But one where they took another legitimate Super Bowl contender down to the wire. Their Saturday Night Football game at the Green Bay Packers started slowly from a performance perspective, of that there is little doubt. However, the coaching staff deserves a tremendous amount of credit for coming up with the right adjustments to turn things around after the interval.

This might just be a moral victory and nothing else for the Carolina Panthers, which will be no form of comfort for head coach Matt Rhule. The former Baylor man now finds his team with a 4-10 record despite some encouraging performances and whether they can change their outlook over the next two weeks before attention turns to 2021 remains to be seen.

Some of the same problems resurfaced, which has been the case in almost every game involving the Panthers this season. However, Rhule and his players can take great heart from the fact that they are going toe-to-toe with some elite teams and their pursuit of postseason contention might not be that far away.

Let’s take a look at four positive signs that emerged from Carolina’s defeat at Lambeau Field in Week 15.

Promising Sign No. 1

Performance on defense

It wasn’t the best of starts for the Panthers, who allowed Green Bay to score touchdowns on their first three possessions. The writing was on the wall for a potential blowout, but the turnaround made by Phil Snow’s unit in the second half was absolutely astonishing.

Carolina held the NFL’s highest-scoring team going into Week 15 to just three points and terrorized quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the process. They sacked the legendary signal-caller five times after he’d been dropped on just 13 occasions throughout the entire season prior to the game, which was a stark turnaround from a defensive front that struggled to generate pressure.

The Panthers restricted Green Bay to 5-12 on third down and 291 total yards during the game. It might not have been enough to secure victory. But it was yet another huge step in the right direction.