CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are headed to Wisconsin this weekend to face the top team in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers. It's a chance for Carolina to bounce back after a big loss to the Bills and gain a foothold in the conference as they start the second half of the season.

"In my mind, it's still early, it's still early," said corner Jaycee Horn. "We got good teams coming up on the schedule, we're going to have to earn every win we get, so I'm not really thinking about it as us in a hunt or anything like that. I think we're only in Week 9, so we've still got some good football teams we're playing."

To earn that next win, the Panthers will have to win at the iconic Lambeau Field against an ascending Packers team. From starters possibly returning, a chance for the defense to respond, a different approach at the skill positions, and more, here are five things to watch as the Panthers take on the Packers.

What does the RB rotation look like?

On Monday, Dave Canales said when it came to deciding the running back rotation moving forward, he couldn't ignore what Rico Dowdle has done in recent weeks. What Dowdle has done in recent weeks is run for over 600-plus yards, enough to keep him firmly in the Top 5 in the league, despite his carry number shrinking the last two weeks. Through eight weeks, Dowdle is averaging 5.7 yards per carry, and in the two weeks he started, he averaged 7.33 yards per carry.

The veteran back is remaining realistic, though, so as not to get too cocky. Asked if too much was being made of the two running back rotation between he and Chuba Hubbard, Dowdle answered, "I definitely think too much.

"Because we got two great backs, (we) didn't go out there and execute at a high level, so I definitely think too much is being made of it. Either one of us will go out there and make plays and help the team win.

"I think I had a good couple of games, but I know I take it, each game is each game, like when you get out there in the game, it can be a bad day that day. But I just take it each game when I get out there in the game, that's when I kind of get the feeling of how the day's going to go. I wouldn't really say that I'm on the roll as far, but I have had a couple good games."

Now the question becomes, after two weeks of a timeshare between Dowdle and incumbent starter Chuba Hubbard, what will the division look like on Sunday? That's something Canales is keeping close to his chest.

"We had a lot of conversations, and we'll roll that out on Sunday," Canales said this week. "I don't want to give any tips or tells about what we're doing, but trust both guys to do it, and we had a lot of conversations."

The Packers have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, currently third in the league, allowing a mere 78.9 yards per game on the ground. It should be noted, however, the Panthers—who are currently fifth in total rushing in the league—will be just the second team in the Top 10 of rushing that Green Bay will have faced this season. Three of their opponents are in the bottom 10 of the league in that category.

Can the run defense get back to form?

The Panthers' run defense numbers took a significant hit on Sunday against the Bills. Heading into Week 8, Carolina was eighth in the league in run defense, and second since Week 2. Then James Cook III came to town and rushed for 216 yards. It dropped the Panthers to 16th in the league and raised their average per game to 111.6 yards per game.

"We certainly didn't do a good enough job of coaching, of playing," defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. "Don't want to get too much into schematics for competitive reasons, but, I will say that they certainly got the ball on the edge a good amount of times and we just didn't do a good enough job of, adjusting or playing against it. So, I've got to be better our staff's got to be better our players have got to be better, because, you know, that just wasn't good enough."

Now, they'll try to bounce back against a Packers rushing attack that includes Josh Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson. As a team, Green Bay is middle of the pack, averaging 114.1 yards per game. Josh Jacobs is running for 63.9 yards a contest, and 3.6 a carry.

"He's a patient running back. He reads it well, he sets things up," defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson said of Jacobs. "So you got to be able to engage in your block, be able to separate, get off, make it declare so your linebackers don't have to bounce gap to gap, and that makes it for us to make it easier for the back end or the linebackers or outside backers or us up front (to) just do our job at a high level."

The interesting factor here is Wilson. The third year back is second on the team with 162 yards, but the majority of that came last week against the Steelers. Through the first three games this season, Wilson had only seven carries. Against the Cowboys, a game that went to overtime, Wilson had eight carries and 11 total touches for 81 scrimmage yards. He was rarely seen again in the next two games. But against the Steelers in Week 8, Wilson carried for a season high 11 times and 61 yards.

Additionally, quarterback Jordan Love has rushed 25 times for 109 yards.

"They do a lot of motion, you know, mixing things up, doing a lot of eye candy, and they work well together up front," Robinson continued. "So it makes it tough. They got a great back. This quarterback knows how to read, look at, and decipher games and get through it. So we got to be a great defense of disguise and make sure we know what's going on."

What does it take to bring down Jordan Love (and Tucker Kraft)?

At 6-4 and 219 pounds, Love is a big-bodied quarterback. He makes defenders pay as such. As mentioned above, he has 109 yards on 25 carries. Love has scrambled on 28 of his drop-backs, and had a designed rollout on 7.6 percent of his passes. He has only been sacked 10 times.

Love leads the NFL with a positive 31.7 EPA (expected pass) against the blitz this season, averaging 9.5 yards per attempt and throwing eight touchdowns (one interception), both of which rank as the 4th-most in the NFL.

Oftentimes, Love is scrambling away from the blitz to find open guys downfield, only running when necessary. Buying himself time to scan the field has resulted in a 13-2 touchdown-interception rate, tied for third-best amongst qualifying quarterbacks (minimum 150 pass attempts).

"He's being smart with the ball," said linebacker Christian Rozeboom. "He's getting it to his playmakers and they're making plays after the catch, for the most part, and so, getting them down as soon as we can will be huge and force them into longer (down and distance). Winning first down like we have in the past, not so much last week, but in the past, and then yeah, like I said, get them down once they do catch it."

The best at testing that is Love's tight end, Tucker Kraft. He has 346 yards after the catch, which is fifth-most in the league thus far. He's happy to bounce off of defenders and force them to bring him down with a crew.

"You just got to lock in on him," said corner Mike Jackson. "It's kind of one of those things you see the league kind of going to that. A lot of teams have really good tight ends, so, it's not nothing new, but also you just got to know where they are at on the field."

Added Horn, "Usually most teams have a receiver as a top threat, but Kraft, he's a good player, and they like to get the ball to him. But they also, you can't let that fool you because they got receivers who can go too, so we've just got to be locked in on everybody who's out there."

What does the offense look like with Young back?

Bryce Young is set to return on Sunday after missing Week 8 with an ankle injury. He has been able to practice all week, with Dave Canales telling reporters on Friday, Young looked "Better and better, handled the week really well.

"Each day just kind of ramped up some of the things we were exposing him to. He looked awesome, working with these guys, just getting in there, reading, communicating, and physically just looked like he's ready to go."

Young had to watch from the sideline during last week's loss, after quarterbacking a three-game win streak leading into the week, making Sunday's loss even more painful.

"Yeah, of course, no one felt great about last week," admitted Young. "Obviously, I always want to be out there, and also I felt for all the guys. We worked super hard, and just obviously, how the outcome was wasn't what anyone was hoping for.

"But again, page is turned for all of us, this week it's about Green Bay and right now we're in the thick of it, just trying to do everything we can to prepare."

Having Young on the field in an offense with which he has become more comfortable is helpful each and every week. However, this week is particularly crucial. The Packers employ two dynamic pass-rushers, a subject we will delve into more deeply below. However, the Panthers' perspective on that game plan is that Young will have to get the ball out quickly.

"We take that approach every week, and I want that ball to come out," admitted Canales. "I want great decisions. I want anticipation, those types of things, and that's what really has led to Bryce being really decisive, owning the concepts, owning what the design of the play is, how to attack certain different coverages, and where the ball should go, and that's really just a part of that.

"Also, it's a part of the group, you know, making quick decisions for him, presenting themselves in zones, creating separation versus man, and giving him somewhere to go with the ball."

According to Next Gen Stats, through eight weeks (seven games for the starter), Young has been sacked on a career-low 11.5 percent of his pressured dropbacks, which is also the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL. Contributing to this figure is his increased sensitivity to pressure, as he has gotten rid of the ball 0.68 seconds after facing pressure on average, the quickest mark of his career and slightly quicker than the NFL average (0.70 seconds).

And then there's Micah

Normally, how to negate a certain pass-rusher would be folded into the above note about quarterback play. But Micah Parsons is no normal pass-rusher. The chess piece in the trade that will likely have lasting implications for two franchises, Parsons has transformed the Packers' defense in one season. He is relentless to the quarterback, opening up lanes for linebackers to get through, and takes double teams so his teammate, Rashan Gary, can lead the team in 7.5 sacks (Parsons has 6.5 so far).

"You got to be aware of where he's at," said Canales.

"They do a great job moving him around in different spots, he'll play on either edge, he'll play inside in different ways—either as a 3-technique and he'll stand up as a spinner at times too, so you just got to be aware of where he's at."

Stopping him can seem futile at times, with most teams just hoping to slow him down and give their receivers enough time to get open.

"He's obviously one of the best players in this league," said Tetairoa McMillan. "You got to account for him every single play, you know, you got to know where he's at on every single down, so the receivers, we got to speed up our time and not do anything fancy and just stick to the fundamentals, to the basics."

A lot of that will start with the offensive line. As Canales said, Parsons can rush from anywhere on the field, and will. But he does his best work on the edges. That means Ikem Ekwonu and either Taylor Moton (who is questionable with a knee) or Yosh Nijman will have their hands full, depending on which side from which Parsons will rush.

At the end of the day, though, it's everyone's responsibility to know where No. 1 is at all times.

"You have to have things to consider with your protection and helping on the edges," said Canales. "He's a fantastic player, so having that awareness, knowing when we're attacking and how to attack, is really important."