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This Thursday night football recap presented by Acura. Precision crafted performance. Back here with Emory Hunt and Damen Woody. So the Packers get the win over the Panthers. It did not look pretty from the beginning. I mean there were plenty of miscues to look at starting from the beginning. I mean the opening kickoff bumbled um turnovers. We had the misspoint after kick but somehow the Packers are just able to pull it all together. How did they get this one? Jordan Love. I mean, think about the Green Bay Packers and their offense specifically. You know, this is not a complimentary type of offense.
They don't have any ground game to really speak of, but they do have Jordan Love, who I've always said is, you know, has one of the elite AR he has one of the elite arm talents in the National Football League. And you saw it tonight. I mean, outside of the one interception in the red zone, I mean, I thought he was out there playing seven on seven football. He was distributing the ball all the way around against a diminished Carolina Panthers defense, particularly their secondary. So, I thought Jordan Love played absolutely fantastic tonight. Their defense started to set the tone once the game settled down in the first quarter after they traded those inconsistent turnovers or whatever the sloppy play defense settled down. They
really start to harass Carolina. So, we saw more from the defense that allowed Jordan Love to get into his rhythm and do his thing throwing the football like he has done all season long. and Green Bay just really I felt like dominated this game from start to finish, but their defense to me was one to get the party started. So, the defense is one thing and then when you take a closer look at the offense, you say they're really not running the ball that much, right? I mean, is this just who they are and what do you think this looks like moving forward? Listen, I always say dance with who you brought to the party and it's their passing game and so that's what they are. They tried to run the
football. You give them credit for that. And a lot of times it's not necessarily for me about the numbers. The attempts were there. So they were trying. They stayed with it. It wasn't successful, but they okay, if it's not successful, we'll just go what we know works. It's our passing game. It's a deep passing game. It's an intermediate passing game. It's the passing game all over the field. So when Jordan Love is playing like he's playing, like Damen talked about, you're going to have that in your back pocket always. So you could try different things. to we'll try to run the football, but their identity this season specifically is their passing game and what we're starting to see now from their defense.
Yeah, because of the uh you know all the different lineup changes they have along the offensive line, it's going to be really hard for them to get any type of rhythm in the running game. So, it's this is going to be showed by Jordan Love. And again, you know, it's they're one-dimensional, but when you have a guy as talented as Jordan Love, good things happen. and they got explosive guys on the outside uh at the wide receiver positions with Christian Watson and uh Matthew Golden and those guys came through again tonight. Is there value in being this type of battle tested at this point in the season? Oh, absolutely. I mean, the whole NFC North is just it's one big battle. And so, you know, tonight on a short week, they went out here and handled
business against another NFC foe. But, you know, this all these teams going to be playing each other. You got the Minnesota Vikings. They're going to be they're playing going up against the Detroit Lions. And then obviously the Green Bay Packers that, you know, going to be facing got to face the Chicago Bears again. So, all these teams going to be facing one another. They're all above 500, which in my opinion makes them the best uh the best division in the National Football League. That's a great point and great question because we tend to look at records and like you automatically just assume six and0 best team in the league, but you look at what Green Bears and you're like,
"Hey man, they actually look like they may be better than the team that's undefeated." And then you go back even further, you're like, "Well, the Minnesota Vikings did punch them in the mouth in week one, but that was week one." So that's why I'm excited to see how this thing plays out down the stretch. We was talking about this watching the game where hey, we see what's the record in standings now, but we may not know what lies ahead on the back end of the season. So, this is the best division in football. Yeah. And they're not in a position like the Vikings who still don't know what it feels like at this point to get a loss, right? Um, okay. Elsewhere, we got to talk about Christian Watson. Have you guys ever seen anything like it? I mean,
obviously, star wide receiver here, gets injured, dealing with a chest injury, goes to the hospital, comes back, gets back in the game. Emory, your thoughts. Well, I don't want to joke about the Willis Reed complex. That's what that's what it like. It's exactly what it looked like. Willis Reed, he came running back into the stadium full pass like Techmo, running out the ambulance, get back on the field. Um, but it's funny, we saw this before when Aaron Rogers got hurt against the Bears. Deshawn Kaiser had to come in and he had turnover after turnover and then Rogers comes right back out of the tunnel, finishes the game, wins the game for
them. So, it's not the first, but to see it and how it looked when he exited the field, it looked like it was serious. The fact that he had to go to the hospital and then to come back and catch a game-winning uh first down to clinch the first the game for them. I thought that was big. That's the story of the night. Well, I mean, listen, he's he's their deep threat. He's the most explosive wide receiver on the team and we saw he was eating early and then obvious, you know, unfortunately he had the injury which took him to the hospital. But even when he came back, you know, like the first person that Jordan Love looked at on the pass play was Christian Watson and he was double teamed on the pass play. So, it
just shows you what I think the importance that you know he means to that offense and what he brings to that Green Bay Packers offense. All right, moving to the Panthers. Um, we knew how banged up that Panthers offensive line was before the start of this game. Bryce Young is now the first Panthers quarterback sacked five or more times in consecutive games since Kyle Allen in 2019. What can the Panthers do to navigate this reality? Well, I mean, first of all, try to get some guys back healthy. I mean, that's number one. You know, they've been ravaged along the offensive line, and the Green Bay Packers took absolutely took advantage of that. Had six sacks tonight. So, getting some guys
back healthy, but they got to get the running game going more than what they did tonight. I think that when you put all of this pressure on Bryce Young, who by the way is having his best season as a pro, but when you have all this pressure and you're one-dimensional offensively, then teams can scheme you up and really get after the quarterback, which the Green Bay Packers did tonight. Okay, I'm going to use the sandwich approach. I'm going to say something nice, then I'm going give you that's what my therapist says, then you finish up with the critical stuff. So, the nice part was the defense actually tackled better tonight.
I thought they did a fantastic job of making one-on-one tackles in space. Green Bay really had to work for a lot of what they got tonight offensively. So, that's that. The issue with the Bryce Young and the offensive line, I'll say because if Damen says it, y'all going to say he's biased as an offensive lineman. A lot of these sacks are on Bryce Young and not on the offensive line. Yes, the offensive line had its struggles, but if you're Bryce Young, your depth in the pocket is not where you want it to be because you're standing right there halfway to the top of your drop and now you're just inviting pressure. So, you're giving yourself no room for error and you can't get out of dodge like you want to
because you're not getting enough depth in the pocket on your drop. Also, this is for Cadalis. Hey man, how about you move the pocket? Get him outside the pocket. Get him on the move to get away from that pressure and allow him to have a two-way go. either he's going to throw it or he's going to run it. But you standing back there dropping back in the passing game is going to invite that pressure. You're going to get the sacks that we saw tonight. It allow Greens Green Bay's defense to have that momentum that hey man, we could beat these guys. And now you kind of deemphasize the momentum from your offensive line cuz hey man, I'm at a disadvantage. I'm hurt. I'm on Freel.
I'm a rookie out there. Um, I'm trying to go gut it out, but we're, you know, playing straight drop back game and a quarterback is not getting enough depth on his drop and that's just inviting all this pressure. To your point, uh, any thoughts on Bryce Young and just his performance overall in this game? He had some answers. There were at times when, okay, they're coming with the quick pressure. I'm going to get the ball out of my hands. I understand what my hots are. So, he was understanding. I actually thought he did better versus the blitz than he did in the drop back passing game. we had to read and scan the field. So, there were some answers there, but to Damian's point, there wasn't enough because they
didn't have the balance. And when you don't have balance, and now you're going to have him throw uh 30 plus times a game, that's not a winning formula. And that's what happened to them tonight against Green Bay, y'all. The NFC North has every team above 500. NFC South, polar opposite. Every team is below 500. How do you at this point evaluate the NFC South, Damen? Uh, well, I mean, it's it's a lot of inconsistency going on. I mean, you got one week, you know, the Carolina, you thinking that the Carolina Panthers will start making a move and then they get absolutely boat raced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you know, rushing for 258 yards. And, you know, I think the biggest question mark to me is who are the Atlanta Falcons?
Where are the Atlanta Falcons? Because Atlanta Falcons are plenty talented. You know, Michael, we see the difference that Michael Pennix Jr. has made since, you know, coming back at the quarterback position. Can they be can they find the consistency, you know, on offense to really, you know, propel them in this NFC South? That's what I'm waiting to see. I look at the Falcons as being a team to beat in this division. Uh because I can trust their defense. And a lot of people talk about their defense and thinking in terms of they're not being as successful as a top defense should, but they're going to get guys back healthy and also coming off suspension. And they're playing with good confidence. And we saw them go
toe-to-toe with San Francisco. They were down double digits. came back in that ball game and dominated San Francisco. And as their offense continues to find those explosive plays, they're playing their best ball right now. And the second best team will probably end up being Tampa Bay based on what we just saw them do, Carolina. Um, and how you expect their defense and their run game to start to get it together like we saw it against the Panthers. So, it's still up for grabs because Carolina has a quarterback that's playing his best ball of his career. So, but I would rank them just like that. Atlanta, Tampa, and Carolina. One, two, three. Shout out to my New Orleans Saints because they are just out there hanging out.
They're just chilling. But it is interesting among those three because you look at them and it's like every one of those teams has had some flash of, hey, they could do it, you know? It's pretty fascinating stuff. All right, when we come back, we're giving out our game balls. Don't go away. Much more to come here on CBS Sports HQ. We're back on CBS Sports HQ presented by Acura. Precision crafted performance. back here in studio with Damen Woody and Emory Hunt. Time now to give out some game balls, gentlemen. Damen, let's start with you. Who wowed you in this one? Yeah, for me it's uh Jordan Love. Jordan Love just again, you know, without any semblance of a running game. You just saw the arm talent out there tonight.
You know, there wasn't much pressure on Jordan Love in this game and he was able to push the ball down the field like we've been seeing them all season long. And so Jordan Love, this is really the Jordan Love show for the Green Bay Packers. until they show any semblance of balance offensively, it's going to be on him. And he did a heck of a job tonight of uh getting a win against the Carolina Panthers. How about the Packers pass rushers? Five, six sacks tonight. Four by the edge guys, denied Dennis Sutton, their rookie defensive end, had two sacks. Um had a TFL, had a pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage. So, I felt like
we saw this defensive pass rush really get it together and start to harass uh Bryce Young back there in the pocket. But those were the biggest questions we had about Green Bay coming into this season. How would they be without Micah Parsons? And every game we're starting to see this pass rush led by Lucas Vaness start to come alive. And now you have Deny Dennis Sutton. You have Devonte White, the defensive tackle had two sacks tonight too as well or two TFLs in a sack tonight as well. So everyone's getting pressure. It's not just the you know that they were playing the Carolina Panthers. It's the fact that these guys are actually getting better and we know success breeds more success.
All right. biggest takeaway, your prevailing thought that you're left with from this game, Emory, let's start with you. for the Green Bay Packers. I kind of alluded to it, is that their defense is actually getting better without Micah Parsons, which is a great thing because when Micah Parsons does come back and just can ease himself into the flow and get back to being Micah Parsons, his defense is going to be playing its best ball down the stretch of the season, which is important in this division because we just saw earlier today the Chicago Bears bolster their defense by adding Jeffrey Simmons, a big defensive tackle. So, you want to be playing great defense in this division. I think when they get Michael
Parsons back, they will be doing just that because they're doing it right now in the last couple of weeks. Mine is simple. Jordan Love is special. He is. I listen, I just love some Jordan Love. I do. I think Jordan Love is one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League. I again, you're talking about an offense that's one-dimensional. They have no semblance of a running game. Their offensive line has been in shambles all season long, but here it is game in and game out. Jordan Love just goes out there and just puts on a show. And uh tonight was no different. Obviously, Christian Watson
had like a hundred yards in the first half. Went out, got injured, came back, and Jordan Love was still dealing. And so this is going to be the Jordan Love show probably for the remainder of the season. I don't know if they're going to have any semblance of a, you know, running rushing attack even with Josh Jacobs back. And so it's just going to rely on it rely on this arm, this great arm talent of his. When you talk about arm talent, can you explain that a little bit more just to the layman, you know, what it is that stands out? Yeah. I look at arm talent as a guy who can threaten every blade of grass on the field. Someone who whose arm, you know, it there's not an area of the field that he can't threaten. And
that's what Jordan Love can do. He can throw it in different angles. He can do all, you know, all different types of things. But, you know, he's one of those, I think, rare guys. I put him in up there with like as far as arm talent like Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen. Those type of guys that can again threaten any area of the football field. We should do that. We should rank top arm talent. He's trying to go viral. Anywh who, all right, Emory, uh, your Panthers takeaway from this game. They struggle with physicality. When teams bring physicality to the table, that's when we see these Panthers get blown out. And it was fascinating
because I don't make this up. These are the real analytics that people want to see. Bears blown out. Bucks blown out, Browns choked out. Outside of them struggling with physicality, they also struggle with teams that have the letter B. And also, guess who they play next? The Broncos. So, that's going to be an issue for them. So, they have to get a little bit better handling physicality. And it's not like lifting weights or anything like that. It's about your mentality. You got to really want to bring the fight to somebody. If you can't do that, they're going to bring the fight to you. And we haven't seen them bring that fight to somebody just yet. When the physicality is the other team's a strong suit
or they have to exterminate the bees. Exactly. Get rid of the bees, they'll be fine. But anything to beat, they get blasted. All right. Your take away from the Panthers? Yeah, I think they just they got to do a better job of protecting Bryce Young. Bryce Young is having a career year. Uh but this is, you know, this is now backto-back games where he's been sacked five or more times. And so we know that Bryce Young is a slight quarterback. He's not the biggest of guys out there. And you know, you can't go out here and take the type of pounding that Bryce Young has, you know, has been taking over the past
couple games. So, we know that they have injuries along the offensive line, but they got to solidify and get those things cleaned up or they won't have their quarterback for the rest of the season. All right, Damen Woody and Marie Hunt, thank you guys for your perspective. Here's a look at what's coming up on Sunday on CBS. First, at 1 p.m. Eastern, Josh Allen and the Bills take on the Ravens in what could be Lamar Jackson's return to game action. Then at 4:25, it's an AFC West showdown between the Chiefs and Broncos. You can also stream the action on Paramount Plus.
