QUARTERBACK 

Cam Newton hasn’t shown many effects of his cracked ribs. He’s scrambled and even took off on a designed run. Newton’s still not 100 percent, but he’s not holding back. His timing hasn’t been horrible, either. He completed 11 of his 18 passes for 130 yards, while running twice for 16 yards.

RUNNING BACKS

DeAngelo Williams is being held out with a thigh injury, which gave Jonathan Stewart his first start since Week 13 last year. It hasn’t gone well. With Newton passing 18 times, Stewart had four carries for just one yard. He did take a screen pass 22 yards for his biggest play since 2012 … Fullback Mike Tolbert had a 16-yard reception on the Panthers first play, but he only has one other touch – a carry that lost three yards.

RECEIVERS

Jerricho Cotchery was quiet when Newton played during the preseason, but the two have a good connection going today. Cotchery caught three first-half passes for 33 yards … Kelvin Benjamin didn’t make a catch until the second quarter, a 22-yard gain in the middle of the field. The rookie nearly pulled down a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. It would have counted in college, but he only got one foot in … Brenton Bersin, who was inactive last week, became the first Wofford player to record an NFL catch since Jerry Richardson.

TIGHT ENDS

Greg Olsen didn’t get as many looks as he did in the first half last week, but he did have three receptions … Ed Dickson still hasn’t had a regular-season catch with Carolina.

DEFENSIVE LINE

With Greg Hardy surprisingly inactive, Mario Addison was listed as the starter, but Wes Horton was out there for the first play … second-round pick Kony Ealy, who was inactive last week, knocked down a pass and wasn’t unnoticeable … Kawann Short had a monster half with three tackles and a good amount of pressure … Colin Cole destroyed Joique Bell in the backfield during a second-quarter run.

LINEBACKERS

Luke Kuechly, who had zero forced fumbles his first two seasons, nearly forced his second in as many weeks, but the play was ruled an incompletion. Kuechly had 8 tackles in the first half.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Antoine Cason has had three very good halves for Carolina. After leading the defense with 9 tackles last week, Cason had 7 in the first half. He’s also played solid in coverage, even during a third-down completion to Calvin Johnson … Josh Norman, who didn’t play a defensive snap last week, was in for a few plays at cornerback … Roman Harper was trailing on a play where Johnson dropped a touchdown in the end zone. Harper celebrated when he saw it was a drop, but it may have been a celebration of relief.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Graham Gano hit two field goals, including a 53-yarder in the second quarter. He’s 7-for-7 since last year on tries of 50 yards or more.

COACHING

Head coach Ron Rivera is now 3-10 in challenges after losing a challenge in the first quarter … defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has a good gameplan going that’s limiting the Lions’ big plays.