Author Image
Author Image
26_KnowYourFoe (3)
26_KnowYourFoe (3)
CHARLOTTE — It's time for a primetime showdown, as the Carolina Panthers (1-2) welcome the Detroit Lions (2-1) to town for Sunday Night Football in Week 4. The Panthers are coming off a close 21-18 loss to the Browns, and Detroit survived a late rally by the Jets to win 31-24.
The Panthers are 8-4 all-time against the Lions. Carolina is 6-1 at home and 2-2 on the road. This will be the first time the two teams have faced off since 2023, when the Panthers lost there. But Carolina has actually won the last two against Detroit in Bank of America Stadium, including the 37-23 win in 2022 when they ran for 320 yards.
A lot has changed for both teams since then, though, so get to know the 2026 Detroit Lions ahead of Sunday night's matchup.
Detroit Lions' Jared Goff throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Paul Sancya/Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Jahmyr Gibbs is one of those special running backs whose position is better described as "athlete." He clocked in another dominant performance in the Lions' Week 3 win, with 27 total touches (20 rushes, seven receptions) for 164 yards from scrimmage (99 rushing, 65 receiving). And, as if that stat line wasn't gaudy enough, he had three touchdowns.
Gibbs touched the ball on 45 percent of the Lions' plays in Week 3, and was responsible for 43 percent of Detroit's total offense.
According to Next Gen Stats, Gibbs gained 57 yards after the catch against the Jets and forced eight missed tackles across his touches. Gibbs has now forced 29 missed tackles this season, the second-most in the NFL entering the rest of the Week 3 slate.
He is the second player in NFL history with 300-plus rush yards, 150-plus receiving yards, and six-plus touchdowns through the first three games of a season (1980 Billy Sims, also with the Lions), according to Doug Clawson of CBS Sports.
So, yes, Gibbs — a college teammate of Bryce Young at Alabama — is as advertised.
Gibbs is a special athlete, but he's far from the only proven playmaker on this Lions offense. Detroit is led by quarterback Jared Goff, the five-time Pro Bowler (three of which came with the Lions).
Goff is taking care of the ball, with a 72.8 completion percentage through three games, for 802 yards and eight touchdowns. Goff has yet to throw an interception in the first three weeks. He is one of only three quarterbacks to have thrown multiple touchdowns across three games and not thrown an interception (C.J. Stroud and Geno Smith are the others).
Goff has friendly targets in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, the latter of whom was Young's top receiver the year he won the Heisman at Alabama.
St. Brown was held to four catches for 19 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, but he is still the Lions' leading receiver with 228 yards and five touchdowns thus far. St. Brown is also Goff's go-to man when Detroit has to have a first down.
Williams has pulled in 10 receptions for 127 yards, and tight end Sam LaPorta is a big target at 6-3, 245 pounds. He's pulled in 14 receptions for 144 yards and a score.
New York Jets' Geno Smith is sacked by Detroit Lions' Aidan Hutchinson and Skyler Gill-Howard during the second half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Paul Sancya/Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The Lions defense was vaulted the last couple of years, but they hit a rut in the first two weeks of the season. In Week 3, though, they found a bit of their old magic, sacking Geno Smith four times, including 2.0 sacks from former Panthers pass-rusher, DJ Wonnum.
The group is led by Aidan Hutchinson. Going into Week 3, the defensive end had generated 14 pressures in the first two weeks, the second-most in the NFL, and he led all players with 104 pressures since the start of last season.
Detroit entered Sunday ranked 31st out of 32 teams in scoring, total, and rushing defense and were adding two new starters to the secondary. The Jets did put up 335 total yards, but the Lions held them to 58 yards on the ground. And just like they did in Week 1 against the Saints, they made a stop when it mattered, with a strip-sack on Smith to end the game.
The Lions secondary is still missing safety Kerby Joseph, who remains on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury, as well as corner Avonte Maddox, who had to have season-ending foot surgery after a Week 2 injury.