Panthers fall on the road at Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Playing a top-five passing offense is going to be hard in perfect circumstances.

The Panthers’ secondary at the moment does not create a perfect circumstance.

The Packers took a 27-19 win over the Panthers at Lambeau Field Thursday night, and an already-thin Carolina defensive backfield was threadbare by the end of the night. They fell to 3-4 with the loss, though that’s still good for first place in the NFC South heading into the weekend.

Already without three corners on injured reserve, including Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson (who have been there since Week 4), and Akayleb Evans (who hit IR earlier in the day), the Panthers lost rookie cornerback Will Lee III  with a hamstring injury, and he did not return.

That left the Panthers vulnerable in the back of the defense and spoiled an otherwise solid effort on defense. They finished the game with just three healthy corners, including Chau Smith-Wade, practice squad call-up Marco Wilson, and recent addition Malcolm DeWalt IV, who was making his NFL debut.

Lee went down in the second quarter and immediately grabbed at his hamstring at the end of a 53-yard pass to Packers wideout Christian Watson. That play slowed both sides, as Watson left with a chest injury and was taken to a nearby hospital for tests, but he was able to return to the game in the second half.

After being helped to the sidelines, Lee was carted to the locker room.