Week 4 · 2026 · Regular
Panthers vs. Lions: League's Top Passing Game Meets Its Worst Pass Defense
The 1-2 Panthers host Detroit at 8:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC. Carolina leads the NFL in passing yards per game and Detroit has allowed the most. On the ground it runs the other way. Legette and Lewis are out.
The Carolina Panthers are 1-2, and their quarterback leads the NFL in passing yards. On Sunday night they host the Detroit Lions, who are 2-1 and have given up more passing yards per game than any team in the league. Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers' first Sunday night home game since the 2015 season.
Carolina averages 295.7 passing yards a game, first in the NFL; Detroit allows 299.3, 32nd. Bryce Young has 939 passing yards, the most of any quarterback, and the team says he is the first Panthers quarterback to lead the league in passing yards through three weeks. He is on the injury report with a knee injury, was listed as a full participant all week and has no designation for Sunday.
Detroit's edge is on the ground. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs has 307 rushing yards and leads the Lions with 36 points, and Carolina has allowed 193.3 rushing yards a game, the most in the league, according to the team's weekly game notes. Detroit ranks ninth in rushing at 120.7 yards a game. All of these rankings rest on three games.
Three cornerbacks
Through three weeks Carolina ranks fifth in passing yards allowed, at 172.3 a game. It will face Detroit without its two starting cornerbacks. Jaycee Horn (quad) and Mike Jackson (groin), both hurt in last week's loss at Cleveland, went on injured reserve Wednesday, which keeps each out at least four games. The other cornerbacks on the team's Sept. 29 roster are Akayleb Evans, Will Lee III and Chau Smith-Wade, and the team has announced no cornerback additions to its active roster since.
Detroit's passing game averages 247.7 yards, eighth in the league. Amon-Ra St. Brown leads its receivers with 228 yards.
The rest of the numbers
The Lions score 31.0 points a game, third in the league, and allow 31.7, last. Carolina scores 29.7 and allows 27.7. Detroit has turned the ball over once all season and has 12 sacks, second in the league; Aidan Hutchinson has 3.5 of them. Carolina has forced seven turnovers, also second.
Who is out
Two Panthers are ruled out: receiver Xavier Legette (knee) and guard Damien Lewis (elbow). Neither practiced Thursday or Friday, and both were listed as non-participants Wednesday, when the team held a walkthrough and estimated who would have taken part. Four more are questionable, which the league defines as uncertain to play: receiver Jalen Coker (quad), tackle Monroe Freeling (concussion) and defensive tackles Lee Hunter (foot) and Cam Jackson (knee). Freeling practiced fully Friday. Coker and Hunter were limited, meaning they took less than their normal share of practice repetitions. Jackson was added to the report Friday, also limited.
Linebacker Devin Lloyd (calf) and safety Nick Scott (rib), both inactive at Cleveland, were full participants all week and have no designation for Sunday. Neither do running back Chuba Hubbard, tight end Darren Waller or outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen.
For Detroit, guard Ben Bartch (foot) is out after missing practice all week, and cornerback D.J. Reed (rib) is questionable after three limited practices. Edge rusher DJ Wonnum (back) missed Wednesday, practiced fully Thursday and Friday, and has no designation.
What to watch for
The team lists several milestones within reach. Young needs 770 passing yards to become the fourth Panther with 10,000 for his career. Hubbard needs 111 rushing yards to pass Christian McCaffrey for third among Panthers running backs; the last time Detroit came to Charlotte, in Week 16 of 2022, he ran 12 times for 125 yards. Long snapper J.J. Jansen has played 280 straight games and needs three more to pass Jim Marshall, the Cleveland and Minnesota defensive end who played 282, for the third-longest streak of consecutive games played in NFL history.
The game
Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. Sunday on NBC, with Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark. The local radio broadcast is on WRFX 99.7 FM. Carolina is coming off a 21-18 loss at Cleveland.
Carolina leads the series 8-4 and is 6-1 against Detroit at home. The team says its six straight home wins over the Lions are its longest home winning streak against any opponent. It is 4-4 when hosting on Sunday night; the last time it did, in Week 7 of 2015, it beat Philadelphia 27-16.
On the sidelines, Panthers offensive assistant Dean Petzing will coach against his brother, Drew, Detroit's first-year offensive coordinator.