Panthers Reveal More Bad Injury News for Defense

The Carolina Panthers secondary has been hit hard in the first half of the season. That trend continued on Thursday with just hours before the Panthers were set to play at the Green Bay Packers on "Thursday Night Football" in Week 8.

Per the Panthers, cornerback Akayleb Evans was placed on injured reserve. He was ruled out for Thursday night's contest due to knee and triceps injuries. 

Evans, a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, started in the last three games for the Panthers' short-handed secondary. Cornerback Jaycee Horn is on injured reserve with a quad injury. Cornerback Mike Jackson is on injured reserve with a groin injury. 

Earlier this week, Panthers head coach Dave Canales suggested Evans was "day-to-day" with his injuries. He believed that Carolina had plenty of options for the secondary for Thursday night's game.

The Panthers defense will look to perform much better against the Packers than they did in Week 7 when they suffered a 43-13 loss (and 26 points given up in the second quarter) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 22 of those points came off turnovers.

While the secondary is dealing with injuries, it wasn't the Buccaneers passing game that got the better of Carolina. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield only attempted 11 passes  for 64 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers ran all over Carolina, gaining 258 rushing yards and three scores on 49 rushing attempts.

The Panthers enter Thursday night's contest sitting atop the NFC South with a 3-3 record, just above the Atlanta Falcons, who have a 3-4 record.

The Packers will provide a completely different test entirely for the Panthers’ defense.

Quarterback Jordan Love has thrown for 1,958 yards, 13 touchdowns, and five interceptions  through seven games. He threw for 274 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the Packers' 20-17 loss to the Lions on Sunday.

Green Bay has been reliant on its passing attack this year. The Packers are averaging just 2.9 yards per rush, though they just got Josh Jacobs back when they faced the Lions. Jacobs rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries against the Lions. The Packers rushed for 60 yards on 19 rushing attempts.

With the injuries in the Panthers’ secondary, expect Packers head coach Matt LaFleur to try to take advantage of the passing game. One would assume the Panthers will need to score plenty of points to keep up in this contest.