Packers 27, Panthers 19: Six Sacks, a Broken Rib, and a Preview of the Team the Patriots Get on Nov. 8

Thursday Night Football was a scouting report for New England fans, whether you watched it like one or not. The Packers beat the Panthers 27-19 at Lambeau Field, and Green Bay's next game is at New England on Nov. 8, per the AP recap. So here's what the Patriots are getting.

Start with the defense, because that's the headline. Green Bay sacked Bryce Young six times for 33 yards and held Carolina to 258 total yards and 3.7 yards per play, per the ESPN box score. Carolina was 5-for-18 on third down. The AP notes Green Bay hasn't let any of its last five opponents score more than 20. "This defense is really special," safety Javon Bullard said. Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie: "I think the sky is the limit for this defense."

Jordan Love was efficient: 30 of 41, 288 yards, three touchdowns, one pick, zero sacks taken, a 106.6 passer rating. He threw TDs to Tucker Kraft (12 yards), Matthew Golden (24) and Josh Jacobs (4). Christian Watson had eight catches for 113 yards, Golden seven for 79.

The run game, though? Jacobs had 21 carries for 39 yards, 1.9 a pop, against what AP called the NFL's lowest-ranked run defense. Green Bay as a team ran 26 times for 66 yards. He did score twice, once on the ground and once through the air.

Love wasn't satisfied either. "Late in the game, it wasn't good enough," he said. "We weren't able to finish the way we wanted." Green Bay led 27-10 in the third quarter and didn't score again. Up 27-13 early in the fourth with the ball at Carolina's 28, Love threw an end-zone pick to Zakee Wheatley. Young then hit Jalen Coker for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth-and-3 with 5:37 left, the two-point try failed, and the Panthers turned it over on downs at midfield with 2:41 left. Dani Dennis-Sutton's sack on Carolina's last-gasp drive finished it.

The turning point came right after halftime. Carolina got the ball to start the third and went for it on fourth-and-2 from midfield, and Chris McClellan and Evan Williams stopped Hubbard a yard short, AP reported. Green Bay took the short field and Love found Jacobs for the 27-10 lead. Golden's touchdown before the half came one play after he dropped a potential touchdown, on third-and-13.

The Packers also turned it over three times, including fumbling the opening kickoff, and rookie kicker Trey Smack doinked an extra point off the left upright. That's sloppy. Carolina didn't make them pay enough.

The wild part: Watson hurt his chest making a 53-yard catch in the second quarter and was taken to the hospital, then came back after a CT scan showed no internal bleeding, AP reported. He said he broke a rib. "I felt like I was watching 'WWE Smackdown vs. Raw' or something, seeing the cameras on me when I was coming out of the ambulance," he said. Carolina corner Will Lee was carted off with a hamstring injury on the same play, and the Panthers already had three corners on injured reserve. Green Bay tight end Josh Whyle was evaluated for a concussion.

For Carolina, Young went 23 of 41 for 209, a touchdown and a pick. Chuba Hubbard had 81 rushing yards and a score, plus seven catches. "Love the fight in the group," coach Dave Canales said. The Panthers fall to 3-4 and host Denver on Nov. 8. The Packers are 5-3. Carolina guard Corey Bullock hurt his quadriceps in the second half, per AP. At halftime Green Bay unveiled former president and CEO Bob Harlan's name on Lambeau's northeast facade next to former general manager Ted Thompson's; Harlan, who ran the team from 1989 to 2008, died March 5 at 89.

Side note for the baseball people: several Milwaukee Brewers, a night after winning the first World Series title in franchise history, got a huge ovation at Lambeau, and Brandon Woodruff held up the Commissioner's Trophy during a timeout, per AP.

Dez's take: if I'm the Patriots, I circle two things. One, Green Bay can't run the ball right now, so they'll put it on Love, who's sharp. Two, that pass rush is legit, and Drake Maye's offensive line has injuries piling up on this week's report. The Patriots play in Miami first, and nobody should look past that. But Nov. 8 at Gillette is going to come down to whether New England can protect its quarterback better than Carolina protected Young. Six sacks is a lot of sacks.

Unknown: Watson's status for Nov. 8 with a broken rib.