Injuries beginning to take their toll on the Panthers' secondary, offensive line

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers are probably wishing they could petition the NFL for another bye week.

Mounting injuries to the secondary and offensive line have begun to take their toll on the Panthers (3-4), who have dropped two straight games and fallen into a tie with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South.

On Friday, the Panthers fired defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero after the team allowed Jordan Love to throw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Carolina entered the game last in the league in run defense.

The Panthers promoted defensive line coach Todd Wash as interim defensive coordinator.

“Just wanna see the guys connected,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "I just wanna see them excited about going out there and executing the plan. And playing fast, playing the physical brand. And the effort’s been there. Those things are right. But I know that we can make strides with being able to get everybody on the same page, tying in the whole unit.”

Evero's fate may have been sealed when starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson went down in a Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns and were placed on injured reserve.

Since then, the two cornerbacks who were replaced Horn and Jackson have suffered injuries. Akayleb Evans was placed on IR last week and Will Lee injured his hamstring against the Packers in the first half and had to leave the game.

Canales said the injuries were taken into account when he fired Evero, but added that the decision was based on the big picture and “a lot of information."

Things are just as shaky on the offensive line where the Panthers are playing without three starters, including tackles Taylor Moton and Ickey Ekwonu and guard Damien Lewis.

Bryce Young was under constant pressure against the Packers. He was hurried 22 times, hit nine times and sacked six times.

“We’ve got to make sure we do a good job of giving him solutions when they do have overloaded pressures and zero looks and things," Canales said. "But it wasn’t just that. They got after us with some four-man rushes and some stunts that we didn’t pass off well. That created a little bit of pressure there as well.”

Moton, the team's longtime right tackle, was able to return to action three weeks ago, but since injured his fibula and has been placed on injured reserve. Ekwonu is expected back in the next month or so.

Rookie first-round pick Monroe Freeling has struggled at right tackle this season.

Running back Chuba Hubbard continues to be a bright spot for the Panthers despite playing behind an offensive line that has struggled to open holes.

Hubbard was used extensively against the Packers and gained 81 yards on 22 carries while hauling in a team-high seven passes for 38 yards. He's clearly the only back offensive coordinator Brad Idzik trusts at this point in the season.

Hubbard doesn't have top-level breakaway speed, but he's tough and normally does the little things right and finds ways to pick up difficult yards.

Don't be surprised to see the Panthers shake up the starting offensive line before the next game. One potential option is the versatile but often injury prone Brady Christensen. He can play any of the five offensive line positions.

Ryan Fitzgerald is quietly putting together a decent season, converting on all 13 field goal attempts for Carolina, including a 50-yarder against the Packers. Extra points, however, remain a bit of a bugaboo for the second-year kicker. He is just 13 of 18 with four misses in the last four games.

After starting the season like gangbusters with more than 200 yards receiving in his first two games, wide receiver Jalen Coker's stock has cooled off significantly. Coker has fewer than 37 yards receiving in three of his last four games. He was mostly a nonfactor against the Packers until catching a touchdown pass late in the game to cut Green Bay's lead to eight.

The Panthers lost cornerback Will Lee to a hamstring injury against the Packers, further depleting their secondary.

Carolina averaged just 3.7 yards per play against the Packers.

The Panthers have 10 days to regroup before playing host to Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos on Nov. 8.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs rushes for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, left, is hit by Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper, right as he throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Green Bay Packers defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (51) sacks Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Justice Dept. seeks to separate Alaska ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan to probe 'confusion' with GOP Senate incumbent.

THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.

The top federal prosecutor in Alaska confirmed on Friday the existence of a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent.

The investigation has been ongoing for several months, but revelations this week from The New York Times that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan have resulted in a “significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska,” U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters.

“When credible information comes out, we are committed to pursuing that information to deceive voters and we will act on it. We are acting on it intensely and swiftly,” Heyman said.

Heyman would not say what potential crimes authorities are looking into or the targets of the probe, but encouraged the public to come forward with tips that could help investigators.

It’s highly unusual for Justice Department officials to publicly discuss a criminal investigation or even confirm its existence. And the timing of the press conference is particularly notable given that the Justice Department has had a longstanding practice of avoiding taking public steps in the weeks leading up to an election that could be perceived as attempting to influence a political outcome.

Peltola denied Thursday that she knew anything about the effort to put Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot, where Peltola is challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“I just want to clear the air,” she said at a campaign rally at a downtown bar in Juneau, Alaska’s capital. “I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.”

Federal prosecutors this week issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and requests to preserve records, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

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.

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 Peltola defeat Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

State attorneys have asked a court to rule on the Justice Department’s lawsuit by Monday, saying the case could “cast a cloud over Alaska’s election that is contrary to the public interest.”

Separately, Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into Peltola, saying the newspaper’s reporting “reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections by recruiting candidates — including one with the same name as an incumbent U.S. Senator — to deliberately confuse voters and misdirect their votes.”

“Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy added, noting that the reporting “substantially supports” earlier findings by the state’s elections board into the matter.

Trump on Thursday cast doubt on whether Peltola would be seated in the Senate even if she won the election. “Well, you’re going to have to see what happens,” the president told reporters on his way to a rally in South Carolina. “It’s hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run.”

Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

FILE - This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, and a candidate in Alaska's Senate race, Dan Sullivan, right, in Petersburg, Alaska, July 3, 2026. (AP Photos/Mark Thiessen/Becky Bohrer, File)

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola speaks during a campaign event Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Chloe Anderson)

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