Josh Jacobs scores twice as Packers dispatch Panthers

GREEN BAY, Wis. — This game had a little bit of everything — a player went to the hospital in the first half only to return to action in the second half, play was stopped momentarily because of a drone flying over the stadium and the World Series champions made a guest appearance.

Yet in the end, it looked like a ho-hum victory for the Green Bay Packers, who beat the Carolina Panthers 27-19 on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

Packers receiver Christian Watson already had 100 receiving yards when he left the stadium via ambulance in the second quarter to be examined for a chest injury and the Packers trailed 10-6.

By the time he returned from the hospital in the third quarter, his team had taken control of the game. For good measure, Watson added one catch for 13 yards after running from the ambulance to the field, which drew one of the loudest cheers of the night.

But nothing was louder than when Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff led his teammates out of the tunnel and onto the field with the World Series trophy raised above his head. One night after the Brewers won the World Series, the Packers kept smiles on the faces of Wisconsin sports fans.

Green Bay improved to 5-3 but still has the most losses of the four teams in the NFC North. The Panthers fell to 3-4 but left in a first-place tie with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

What to make of the QB performance: The Panthers tried to blitz Jordan Love, but he torched them. He was a 9-for-9 against the blitz to start the game. On Carolina’s 16 blitzes overall, Love had 14 completions — third most in his career — for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Love’s 30 completions are also his third most as a pro.

Most surprising performance: Who would’ve thought the Packers wouldn’t miss Edgerrin Cooper as much as anyone thought? That’s because since losing the budding star linebacker to a torn Achilles in Week 4, Ty’Ron Hopper has basically impersonated Cooper. He picked off his second pass in the past four games. This time, he tipped Carolina QB Bryce Young‘s pass to himself and hauled it in. Hopper had three pass breakups in the first half alone against the Panthers.

Trend to watch: The Packers officially have a kicking problem. Four days after missing two short field goals (26 and 35 yards) in Sunday’s loss at Detroit, Trey Smack missed his first kick of the night, hitting the left upright on an extra point attempt following the Packers’ first touchdown. It was the rookie’s eighth miss of the season (five field goals and three extra points), the most in the NFL this season. When Smack made the extra point after the Packers’ second touchdown, the Lambeau Field crowd gave one of the loudest cheers of the night. Oddly, Smack has been perfect from 50-plus yards, with makes of 58 and 59 yards earlier this season. — Rob Demovsky

Next game: Nov. 8 at New England Patriots

Young faced a scary amount of pressure against the Packers, as he failed to find his footing.

On the eve of Halloween weekend, Young was haunted by the Green Bay front seven. In the first half, Young was pressured 10 times on 21 dropbacks (48%). With pressure in his face most of the game, Young was sacked six times and threw an interception off a tipped pass that was hauled in by Hopper.

Young — who was pressured on 47.7% of his 43 dropbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats — finished with 22 completions on 39 attempts (56.4%) for 200 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

While the Panthers tried to establish the run against the Packers early, running back Chuba Hubbard had mixed results. With Young rattled by the pass rush, Hubbard didn’t have a ton of room to run despite the offense’s clear objective to move the ball on the ground. Hubbard finished with 22 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown.

The Panthers finished with three takeaways but scored only three points off them. The defense surrendered 354 net yards even with the Green Bay rushing attack failing to push through the league’s worst run defense entering Week 8.

Trend to watch: Young threw only two interceptions in the first five games. After tossing a second-quarter interception under pressure against the Packers, he has four total turnovers in his past two games. He also completed 60.2% of his passes in the first five games and connected on 54.4% of his targets in the past two weeks. After breaking the franchise record for passing touchdowns (11) through five games, Young has two passing touchdowns (and only three scoring drives) in the past two games.

Stat to know: Hubbard made up 46.1% of the Panthers’ offense. He produced 119 total yards and a touchdown, while running 22 times and collecting a career-high seven catches. He is also averaging a touchdown per game through seven contests.

Most surprising performance: After allowing 258 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the Panthers clamped down on the league’s worst rushing attack. Sure, the Packers are terrible on the ground, but the Panthers looked competent making routine stops at and around the line of scrimmage, even with Josh Jacobs playing his second game of the season. The Packers finished with 65 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, with an 18-yard reverse by wide receiver Savion Williams as the top gain. — Mike Kaye

Next game: Nov. 8 vs. Denver Broncos