While the Panthers boasted a lot of loud highlight-film plays from their offensive skill players on Sunday, the most promising part of the game for Carolina occurred more quietly.
Both Carolina’s offensive and defensive lines were forceful and aggressive. That strong play in the trenches is the unglamorous reason why the Panthers have played so well in the last five quarters, outscoring opponents 57-21 in that time frame. And that bodes well for a Panthers team that is 5-2 with an extremely winnable home game Sunday against Tampa Bay that will close out the first half of the season.