The Packers are doing what the Packers should do to the Panthers.
They lead 23-10 at halftime.
Jordan Love ran for a touchdown and threw a touchdown, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak and tossing a 21-yard pass to Dontayvion Wicks. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 134 yards.
Running back Aaron Jones already has a season high with 89 yards on 11 carries with one catch for 8 yards.
Bo Melton has four catches for 44 yards.
The Packers have outgained the Panthers 251 to 154.
Bryce Young has completed 7 of 15 passes for 113 yards. Ihmir Smith-Marsette scored on a 20-yard run. Tommy Tremble has caught three passes for 50 yards.
Aaron Jones returned last week and had 17 touches for 69 yards against the Bucs. He has more yards in the first quarter today against the Panthers.
Jones has nine carries for 82 yards and one catch for 8 yards.
The only thing Jones doesn’t have is a touchdown. The Packers have two of them, with AJ Dillon scoring on a 1-yard run and Jordan Love scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak. Anders Carlson is 1-of-2 on PATs, leaving the Packers with a 13-3 lead.
Love is 4-of-4 for 60 yards.
The Packers already have 153 yards.
Panthers outside linebacker Amare Barno’s day is not off to the best start.
Only 2:51 into the game, on the first punt, Barno was injured. He received medical attention quickly and eventually was carted off the field to the training room.
The Panthers report Barno is questionable to return with a shin injury.
He is one of the Panthers’ best gunners.
The Panthers kept the ball on the play that injured Barno, with Packers linebacker Lukas Van Ness flagged for roughing the punter. The Panthers since have punted again.
A.J. Dillon scored on a 1-yard run on the Packers’ first drive, completing a 74-yard drive and giving the Packers an early 7-0 lead.
Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are currently playing a game of Let’s Make A Deal!, and Harbaugh possibly is waiting to see what’s lurking behind Door No. 2.
As explained by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Michigan has offered Harbaugh a contract that pays out $125 million over 10 years. With one catch. He can’t pursue or take an NFL job for the 2024 season.
Harbaugh, whose current contract runs through 2026, has been offered a “far shorter” agreement that pays $11 million per year. It’s not specified whether that deal has a no-NFL clause for 2024.
Although the coaching carousel won’t begin to spin for two more weeks, Harbaugh surely has gotten back-channel feelers from teams that don’t yet have a vacancy, but that will. It’s possible that he has also heard from one or more teams that do (Chargers, Raiders, Panthers).
The smart play for Harbaugh, who coached the 49ers from 2011 through 2014, would be to subtly explore his NFL options before committing to a deal that keeps him out of the NFL for 2024. If he’s not going anyway, why not promise to not go?
Harbaugh as been interviewed for NFL jobs in each of the past two offseasons. In 2022, he traveled to Minnesota to interview for the Vikings’ job. Last year, Broncos owner Greg Penner went to Michigan to interview Harbaugh.
Last year, Harbaugh wanted (we were told) the Chargers job. The Chargers job did not become vacant. This year, it is. And it would make plenty of sense for the Chargers and Harbaugh to get together.
There was good news and bad news for the Packers when Sunday’s inactive list was released.
Running back AJ Dillon and cornerback Jaire Alexander are both back in action for Green Bay. Dillon missed last Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers with a thumb injury and Alexander has been out since Week Nine with a shoulder injury.
Both players were listed as questionable on Friday. Wide receiver Jayden Reed was also in that group, but the rookie will not play due to toe and chest injuries.
Dontayvion Wicks is active despite an ankle injury, but the Packers continue to be without Christian Watson so they are thin on targets for Jordan Love as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive on Sunday.
