Packers and Panthers trying to bounce back as they face off at Lambeau Field

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A pair of ticked-off teams will square off when the Green Bay Packers face the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night.

The Packers (4-3) are angry over a 20-17 loss at Detroit in which they got penalized seven times in the second half, leading to postgame critiques of the officiating. Carolina (3-3) is mad at itself after getting blown out 43-13 at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So neither team should have any trouble finding motivation.

“Just for us, this is the next game, this is the next championship opportunity,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "But I’m also fully aware there’s a human element involved. And for us, coming off of that loss in the fashion that we lost, for the Packers, a really tough loss for them as well, there’s something that burns inside of you as a competitor. And in me, in our players, certainly in the Green Bay Packers’ locker room, too.”

Green Bay comes into this one with injury issues on its offensive line after losing starting center Sean Rhyan and backup Jacob Monk in the Lions game. Right guard Travis Glover won't play Thursday due to a knee issue.

This continues a season-long problem for the Packers, who have had different starting offensive line combinations in each of their first four games.

“It’s different, but at the end of the day, we still trust the guys,” said Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who made his season debut Sunday after spending Green Bay’s first six games on the commissioner’s exempt list. “I know for the running backs and the O-line, we met together just with us. We went over the film and stuff like that, and the standard is still the standard regardless of who’s in there.”

Green Bay also will be missing linebacker Zaire Franklin (shin) for a second straight game. Carolina has ruled out cornerback Akayleb Evans (triceps/knee), guard Damien Lewis (knee), outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips (hamstring) and offensive lineman Torricelli Simpkins (ankle).

This represents a rematch of a game the Panthers won 16-13 at Lambeau Field last year.

“We know that doesn’t entitle us to anything," Panthers quarterback Bryce Young said. "It’s a new year, new season, new guys on both sides of the ball. For us, that’s not something we’re pulling from or referencing.”

The Packers lost to Carolina last season in part because of their inability to capitalize when they got inside the opponent’s 35-yard line, a problem that also proved costly Sunday at Detroit.

Carolina would love to see its defense show that same kind of stinginess Thursday after allowing the Buccaneers to run wild.

“I’m sure we have a very motivated team coming in here, and certainly one that we know is dangerous,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Shoot, they came in here last year and beat us. But I think we’re motivated as well, and we’ve got to bounce back.”

Carolina (3-3) at Green Bay (4-3)

When/where to watch: Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Prime Video

Latest odds: Packers by 3½

Against the spread: Panthers 3-3; Packers 3-3-1

Last week: Panthers lost 43-13 at home to Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Packers lost 20-17 at Detroit

Last meeting: Panthers beat Packers 16-13 on Nov. 2, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Series record: Packers lead 12-7

Packers running game vs. Panthers run defense. This matchup features each team’s biggest weakness. Green Bay is running for an NFL-low 59.9 yards per game, while Carolina is allowing a league-high 153.2 yards rushing per game. Carolina allowed Tampa Bay to rush for 258 yards on Sunday in what defensive tackle Derrick Brown called an “embarrassing performance.” Green Bay hasn’t run for more than 86 yards in any game this season.

— Panthers QB Bryce Young ranks second in the NFL in passing yards per game (285.3). He has thrown a touchdown pass in eight straight games, including playoffs.

— Carolina ranks fifth in the NFL in points per game (26.5) and yards per game (381.3).

— The Panthers have an NFL-leading nine receivers with at least one 25-yard catch this season.

— Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard rushed for at least 120 yards in two straight games before being limited to 33 yard on seven carries against the Bucs.

— Carolina has a league-high 79.2 penalty yards per game. Green Bay is second with 78 penalty yards per game. The Packers have a league-high 9.3 penalties per game.

— The Packers have a league-high 33 plays from scrimmage of at least 20 yards. Packers QB Jordan Love has a league-leading 30 completions of at least 20 yards.

— Packers WR Christian Watson has six touchdown catches to rank second in the NFL. Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba has eight.

— Packers K Trey Smack missed field goal attempts from 26 and 35 yards in the loss to the Lions. The 35-yarder was deflected.

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See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Carolina Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd celebrates his sack of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee during the second half of an NFL football game in Philadelphia, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) breaks a tackle by Detroit Lions cornerback Keith Abney II (6) during a touchdown reception in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump called for the criminal prosecution of the Democratic candidate running for Senate in Alaska on Wednesday after revelations that her campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting a candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

The race is among a handful of Senate contests this year expected to determine control of the chamber. Trump had previously directed his Department of Justice to sue to block certification of the Senate race should Democrat Mary Peltola defeat Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“I think they should be prosecuted,” the Republican president said about Peltola and the other Sullivan, responding to questions about a report in The New York Times. He earlier had posted on social media that “Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences for what she has done.”

The newspaper obtained text messages between members of Peltola's campaign discussing recruiting other people with the same name as the two-term Republican. They eventually landed on a retired schoolteacher in the small fishing community of Petersburg named Dan J. Sullivan. He made it through the state's August open primary and is one of four candidates on the ranked vote ballot for next Tuesday's general election.

Dan J. Sullivan has long denied he was running at Democrats’ behest and has said he had no contact with Peltola's campaign: “Zero, none, zilch,” he said in June after announcing his run.

He did not respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday from The Associated Press.

Peltola's campaign, in a statement, said: “Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any DC politician will keep her away from that fight.”

During a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola suggested the Times' report was a “distraction" from issues such as Sen. Sullivan's support of the war in Iran.

“This is just another diversion,” she said in a video posted online. “This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions."

Earlier this year, a top state elections official ruled Dan J. Sullivan ineligible for the primary ballot, concluding that his declaration of candidacy was filed "with a purpose to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.”

The case went to the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled he was qualified to run.

Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has endorsed Sullivan and is a longtime friend of Peltola, said in a statement that Alaskans “deserve the honest truth from Mary and her campaign — what has been revealed is a pattern of lies and coverups and a culture of deception that belongs nowhere in our elections or among our elected officials.”

Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan’s campaign, said: “Mary Peltola, her campaign and her senior advisers colluded with the DSCC, national Democrat lawyers and Alaska Democrat operatives to recruit candidates to deliberately confuse and deceive voters.”

Peltola's campaign, in a statement Wednesday, said it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” They issued a similar statement in June after Sen. Sullivan questioned the other Sullivan's candidacy.

Democrats, including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, have repeatedly denied that they were involved in any campaign trick.

“The DSCC is not involved with Dan J. Sullivan," the organization said in a statement Wednesday. The Times report said DSCC staffers were on texts with the Peltola campaign discussing the second Sullivan.

Legal experts said the report about Democrats appearing to recruit Dan J. Sullivan as a way to potentially confuse voters will have no impact on a lawsuit filed recently by the U.S. Department of Justice. President Donald Trump directed the department to file the lawsuit, which seeks to halt certification of a possible Peltola win, citing the presence of the second Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

“It’s a dirty campaign trick, and it’s good reason the Alaska Supreme Court should have permitted the candidate to have been removed from the ballot,” said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor. “But now it’s in the hands of the voters, not litigation.”

It's not the first time a candidate's appearance on the Alaska ballot has been questioned. In 2024, the state Democratic Party sued to keep off the U.S. House ballot a man with no apparent ties to the state who is serving time in a federal prison in New York. A divided state Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot. The man is running again this year, also in the House race, and is on the Nov. 3 ranked vote general election ballot.

The Times story about the recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan is based partly on interviews with Peltola's former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who was fired in August amid a campaign shake-up. The newspaper said she tried to retract her comments last week. Efforts by the AP to reach Rios were not immediately successful.

As of Monday, 46,204 ballots had already been cast in Alaska, according to AP data. Sen. Sullivan is listed on the ballot as the Republican incumbent. The other Sullivan is listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party affiliation.

Riccardi reported from Denver.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - Dan Sullivan, a candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race who shares a name with the incumbent seeking reelection, talks in front of a welcome sign near downtown Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)

In this photo shot with a smart phone, Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan poses ahead of a debate with Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

In this photo shot with a smart phone, Democrat Mary Peltola smiles ahead of a debate with Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

A sample election ballot is displayed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)