Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers: Full Green Bay Game Preview

The Green Bay Packers will look to avenge their first loss of the season when they take on the Carolina Panthers this week in the team's second straight road game against an undefeated opponent.

The Packers (6-1) had their perfect start to 2015 broken last week in embarrassing fashion. The Denver Broncos won decisively, 29-10, on Sunday Night Football as nothing appeared to go right for the away squad.

Sunday afternoon's matchup with Carolina (7-0) will make Green Bay just the third team in NFL history to play teams 6-0 or better in consecutive games, as noted by Randall Liu, the NFL's director of NFC football communications—the other two franchises to do so were Detroit in 1934 and Pittsburgh in 2004. 

This Week 9 showdown also pits a pair of top-10 units against each other. The Panthers enter the game with the league's fourth-highest scoring offense (27.3 points per game) and 10th-best scoring defense (19.4). Meanwhile, the Packers offense ranks 10th in the NFL (24.9) while their once-No. 1 defense has fallen to sixth (18.6). 

The Packers own an 8-4 series advantage over Carolina with wins in three of the last four meetings—including a 38-17 victory last year at Lambeau Field. This week's game will be just the third time Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newtown face each other.

In a matchup of two first-place squads determined to gain a leg up not only in their respective divisions but also on each other in the NFC, Green Bay-Carolina is appointment viewing in the early slate of NFL games Sunday. 

Let's look ahead to some important notes, news and storylines ahead of the Packers' Week 9 road game with the Panthers. 

Viewing Info

Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina

Date: Sunday, November 8

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

NFC North Standings

Week 8 Recap

In a matchup of two undefeated teams, the Packers lost in a big way to the Denver Broncos, 29-10, in Week 8. Almost nothing went right for the road team in the loss as neither the offense nor defense could establish any type of rhythm as the game wore on. 

It was odd to see Green Bay—favored by 2.5 points beforehand, according to OddsShark.com—come up flat on a prime-time stage while its star quarterback limped to one of the worst outings of his career. 

Aaron Rodgers' 77 passing yards were the lowest single-game total of any game he's started and finished in his 11-year career. He had trouble all night long finding open receivers and dodging Denver's pesky pass rush. Broncos pass-rushers sacked Rodgers three times on Sunday, forced him to scramble twice and hit him in the pocket countless other times.

It wasn't like the running game helped Rodgers out, either. Eddie Lacy finished as the team's leading rusher with 38 yards on 11 carries, while James Starks mustered just nine yards on five rushes.

The only bright spot for Green Bay's offense came in the second quarter when Lacy scored on a two-yard touchdown plunge—his first time in the end zone since Week 1.

On the other side of the ball, it didn't get much better. Denver quarterback Peyton Manning dissected the Packers secondary for 340 yards on 21-for-29 passing as he completed passes to eight different receivers all over the field—including eight for 168 yards to wideout Demaryius Thomas.

To make matters worse, the Packers allowed C.J. Anderson—who had lost his starting role as the Broncos' lead back and hadn't gained 50 yards on the ground in a single game this year—to rack up 101 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. 

As noted earlier, almost nothing went right for the Packers in Week 8. 

Packers Stay Put at Trade Deadline

For the fifth straight year, Green Bay stood pat at the NFL's trade deadline—which came and went Tuesday afternoon with no moves made by general manager Ted Thompson.

Thompson, who's only made two in-season trades in his 10-plus years as GM, opted not to acquire help at tight end or wide receiver—positions the Packers have struggled with lately due to injuries and poor production in general.

Tight end Vernon Davis, who went from San Francisco to Denver in a trade on Monday, was one of the biggest names in the 2015 market. Some had suggested Davis could wind up in Green Bay, but ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports the Packers "did not inquire" about the veteran before Tuesday's deadline.

It's not a huge surprise Thompson and Co. elected not to make any moves at the deadline. The franchise has prided itself on developing its own players while refraining from seeking help outside the organization.

Packers-Vikings Flexed to Late Afternoon Kickoff

The Packers announced Monday that their Week 11 game in Minnesota against the division-rival Vikings has been moved to a 4:25 p.m. ET start time. 

With the Vikings (5-2) and Packers (6-1) as the only NFC North teams with winning records, the Nov. 22 matchup will feature a battle of immense divisional relevancy. 

The game, likely to be shown nationwide on Fox, will be the second of four straight division games for Green Bay and the first of three consecutive appearances on national television—in Weeks 12 and 13, the Packers play on Thanksgiving night and on the following Thursday Night Football.

Originally, Green Bay was slated to play three straight early afternoon games beginning this weekend in Carolina. 

Packers Open as Road Favorites

For the second straight game, Green Bay opened as favorites on the road against an undefeated team. They did so last week against Denver—and we all know how that turned out.

This time, the Packers are currently three-point favorites over the 7-0 Panthers, according to OddsShark.com, despite having just suffered their first defeat in Week 8.

It was interesting enough to see a road squad favored over the perfect Broncos a week ago. It's even more surprising now to find the Packers are considered the better team to oddsmakers in Week 9 despite Carolina's undefeated mark and Green Bay's recent embarrassing loss.

Week 9 Injury Report

Official injury report courtesy of Packers.com

DNP = Did not participate in Wednesday's practice; LP = Limited participation

Clay Matthews

If there's one player the Packers can't afford to lose on defense, it's their middle linebacker who's been a consistent playmaker on a recently struggling unit. 

Fortunately for Green Bay, Matthews practiced Wednesday without an issue after rolling his ankle in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the Broncos.

He was officially limited on the team's injury report, but the seven-year vet took part in all aspects of the early portion of practice open to media, according to Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. 

Matthews sat out just four defensive plays following his injury—and the Broncos took full advantage of his absence. C.J. Anderson scored from 28 yards out on a designed run straight up the middle. Matthews' replacement, Joe Thomas, was blocked easily as Anderson waltzed nearly untouched into the end zone. 

Barring any setbacks, Matthews should be ready to go for this week's showdown with Carolina. 

Sam Shields

Green Bay's starting cornerback didn't suit up for Wednesday's practice after exiting in the first half of the Denver game with a shoulder injury. 

Shields is day-to-day, according to Hodkiewicz, after tests performed on Monday showed no significant damage to the defensive back's shoulder. Shields appears to have avoided a serious shoulder injury, according to Demovsky.

LB Clay Matthews vs. QB Cam Newton

The Panthers are the lone unbeaten NFC team largely because of how well they run the ball on offense. 

Featuring a deadly combination of quarterback Cam Newton and running back Jonathan Stewart, Carolina runs for the most yards per game in the NFL (144.0) and has the league's highest run rate (50.6% of plays are runs).

With Newton's size (6'5", 245 pounds) and speed (4.58 40-yard dash), offensive coordinator Mike Shula has taken advantage of the various looks and options he can use with his quarterback out of the shotgun. Thus, opposing defenses see a lot of zone reads and designed quarterback runs with Newton at the helm.

Considering how poorly the Packers have been against the run so far this season—they've allowed 124.4 rushing yards per game (tied for seventh worst in the NFL)—we could see an increased dedication to the ground attack by Carolina on Sunday.

This puts some added pressure on Clay Matthews as the middle linebacker and heart of Green Bay's run defense. We'll likely see Matthews play a QB-spy role on run plays as the Packers look to minimize the damage Newton does with the ball in his hands. 

On zone reads, the last line of defense will sometimes be Matthews filling in on the outside in place of crashing defensive linemen and outside linebackers that must respect Stewart's ability to rush inside. On the Panthers' designed quarterback runs, Matthews will have to come up and make a play in the middle before Newton gets any room to run.

Packers Receivers vs. Panthers Secondary

Against the Broncos in last week's loss, Aaron Rodgers got almost no help from his receivers downfield. That will have to change if the Packers want to beat Carolina.

Routinely, Green Bay's passer had trouble finding any open options in Week 8 as Denver's secondary blanketed Randall Cobb, James Jones and Davante Adams on nearly every passing play. 

Unfortunately for Rodgers and Co., the Panthers employ some of the best defensive backs in the league. Cornerback Josh Norman, who's usually matched up on opposing No. 1 wide receivers, is tied for second in the NFL in interceptions (4) and passes defended (12). Meanwhile, his partner-in-crime on the other side is none other than Charles Tillman—who knows Rodgers and the Green Bay offense all too well. The veteran corner has forced a fumble in four straight games against the Packers.

We haven't even gotten into the safeties yet. The hard-hitting, playmaking duo of Roman Harper and Kurt Coleman round out a strong Carolina secondary.

So it'll be deja vu all over again for Green Bay's receivers—they must find ways to get open to give Rodgers a chance to make plays. 

Cobb vs. Norman. Jones vs. Tillman. Adams vs. Harper/Coleman over top. These matchups could decide how much—and if at all—the Packers score on offense.

Packers X-Factor of the Week: OLB Julius Peppers

Sunday's game in Carolina will mark the fifth time Julius Peppers faces his old team since he left the Panthers in free agency after the 2009 season.

Not only is he the team's franchise leader in sacks, but he also has a knack for having big games against the club that drafted him all the way back in 2002. 

In his two previous games against Carolina, Peppers has tallied three sacks—including 1.5 last year of Cam Newton as a Packer. 

So there's the revenge factor for Peppers ahead of this weekend's showdown with the Panthers.

Still, Peppers—who leads Green Bay with 5.5 sacks in 2015—will need to have a dominant game from his outside linebacker position to give his team a chance to win.

With Newton a dangerous threat to run out of the zone-read option, Peppers' ability to set the edge is crucial. Carolina's quarterback is averaging 9.1 rushes per game at an average of 4.5 yards per rush. Whether or not he exploits the Packers on the outside—as we've seen in the past with San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick—Peppers must take away that option.

Then there's the pass-rush aspect of Peppers' game. 

Against Denver a week ago, the Packers were held without a sack for the first time in 43 games—ending their active NFL streak that dated back to 2012.

It's clear that not getting pressure on a 39-year-old Peyton Manning showed on both the scoreboard and in the box score. 

Peppers will have to lead the charge in getting to Newton in the pocket on pass plays to force turnovers and quick decision-making on the quarterback's part. 

No matter who wins this game, one thing's for sure: It'll be a fun matchup to watch. 

The Packers are looking to rebound after having their perfect season come to an end in an ugly showing against the Broncos last week. 

Meanwhile, the Panthers are undefeated and trying to stay that way against a team that's not only favored in their home stadium, but has also been an NFC bully for as long as Cam Newton's been in the league.

To make the game even more enticing, we've got a top-10 defense against a top-10 offense.

For the Packers to win, they'll need to first and foremost stop the ground-and-pound attack of Carolina's offense. Newton and Jonathan Stewart will trade blows as they look to force the ball down Green Bay's throat. 

Yet, Newton has shown he can get the job done with tight end Greg Olsen as his main target through the air. Olsen can take over the game as a pass-catcher if no opposing defender can adequately match up with him. He did it last week against the Colts late to the tune of six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets.

This might be the factor that decides the game. Green Bay not only lacks a viable option to cover Olsen down the field, but the popular choice to do so—Clay Matthews—could be preoccupied with Newton as a threat to run either on scrambles or out of option plays.

The Packers offense, on the other hand, could run into some of the same troubles that led to Rodgers' 77-yard passing day a week ago. Carolina's coverage corners are good enough that Rodgers' receiving options might be limited as much as they were against Denver. 

Prediction: Panthers 23, Packers 17