The 7-2 Green Bay Packers will be looking to bounce back from last weeks 26-11 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers, their first loss since Week 4.
The 5-3 Carolina Panthers however will be looking to build on last weeks 30-20 win against the Tennessee Titans, this win came after a heavy 51-13 Week 8 defeat courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers.
The last time these two teams met the Panthers came out on top at home 31-24 on December 17th, 2017. Hopefully this game will produce a similar level of points.
Packers struggled on Offense versus Chargers
The Packers never really got started on offense last time out versus the Chargers. The Packers first five possessions all ended in punts.
Los Angeles scored 19 unanswered points before Green Bay finally troubled the scoreboard with a 54 yard field goal from Mason Crosby with less than one minute left in the third quarter.
Their only touchdown, a 10 yard pass to Jamaal Williams came with only 6:27 left in the game, by this point the game was out of reach.
Aaron Rodgers with his number one target Davante Adams back was only able to throw for 161 yards and one TD, completing 23 of 35 passes.
Running the ball was also a struggle as they rushed just 11 times for 45 yards.
Adams was by far Rodgers most targeted player throwing to him 11 times, Allen Lazard had the second most targets of the wide receivers with four.
Though Adams was on a snap count, occasionally rotating out after his turf-toe injury that put him out of action since September 26, Rodgers appeared to rely heavily on Adams with the other wide receivers to help move the chains.
Adams said after the game: "We wanted to manage my snap count and make sure I wasn't too exhausted or exhausted my foot, either." Adams with another week of practice and recovery under his belt will hopefully able to build on his return to action last week.
Better production from running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams will make Adams life easier, save Rodgers passing constantly and keep the Panthers defense guessing.
Panthers overcame confidence denting defeat by the 49ers the week before
In contrast to the situation the Packers found themselves in versus the Chargers, Carolina were the team in the driving seat versus Tennessee Titans. The final score of 30-20 however made the game look closer than it was.
Carolina held a 17-0 lead at half time. Tennessee scored the first touchdown of the second half to make it 17-7, however Carolina reclaimed their 17 point advantage on their next drive with another touchdown to go 24-7.
Carolina and Tennessee continued to exchange touchdowns until the end with the final TD coming from the Titans with 2:58 left in the game.
Kyle Allen threw for 258 yards, two TD's and one interception in last weeks game, with Tuesday's news of Cam Newton being put on injured reserve effectively ending his season, Allen will be looking to make the Quarterback position his own for years to come starting with a big performance away to the Packers.
The player that can go a long way to helping Carolina get the win on Sunday is all action running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey who has scored at least one TD in his last six games, the longest streak among active players, will look at a Green Bay defense ranking 24th in stopping the run and feel confident he can make a similar impact as he did versus the Titans.
In that game McCaffrey ran 24 times for 146 yards and two rushing TD's. He also caught a seven yard TD catch from QB Allen which was Carolina's first of the game.
Wide receivers D.J. Moore seven catches, 101 yards and Curtis Samuel three catches, 64 yards and one TD also made big contributions last time out.
A balanced Carolina offense will cause problems for the Packers, the Packers will have to produce more on offense than they did last week as playing catch up against Carolina will be even more problematic than it was against the Chargers last week.
The playoff picture
Going into Week 10 of the NFL regular season it is worth considering the impact of wins and losses as we approach the business end of the season.
With divisional rivals the 6-3 Minnesota Vikings also losing last week, Green Bay at 7-2 lost no ground in the NFC North remaining one game in front.
Green Bay will be looking to bounce back with a win against Carolina to put pressure on the Vikings before they face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Dallas are 3-1 at home this season with their only loss at Cowboys Stadium coming against the Packers.
At 5-3 the Panthers stand two games behind the 7-1 New Orleans Saints in the NFC South and are in the chase for a wild card spot.
This game could be seen as a must win for the Panthers as the Saints are heavy favourites at home this week against a struggling 1-7 Atlanta Falcons team. The Panthers will be hoping when all is said and done that they remain two games behind as a Saints loss is looking highly unlikely.