A week after allowing 46 points, Panthers' defense dominates Detroit

[Sir Purr]

The Panthers got to Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford for season highs in both sacks (five) and QB hits (11). The Panthers had just 11 sacks in their first 10 games.


That wasn't the only trend they turned on its head.


They entered the week last in the league in defensive third-down percentage and held the Lions to 3-of-14 conversions. They had forced opponents to punt just twice in the last four games combined, but the Lions had to punt six times Sunday. The Panthers had allowed at least 20 points during each game of the five-game losing streak but allowed none Sunday for their first shutout since Dec. 14, 2015 against the Falcons.


Of course, any praise of this defense should be at least a little conditional.


Stafford was playing with an injured thumb and without three of his top offensive weapons — receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola and running back D'Andre Swift. In fairness, the Panthers started backup quarterback P.J. Walker and remained without Christian McCaffrey. They were also playing without injured cornerback Donte Jackson, and the Panthers hadn't previously been described as deep in the secondary or particularly strong there when at full strength.


But putting the hammer down on anyone in the way they did Sunday was encouraging, and when you've lost five in a row, you don't have to apologize for much.


Safety Tre Boston called it a "brand win" and said it showed something about the character of the team.


"We're the toughest, hardest-working team, most competitive team in the league," Boston said. "For us, it starts with being tough. We've got to be tough, we've got to work hard, and be the most competitive team in the league. For us, that's about every week, going in there and fighting. That's something we've seen this whole year, except for maybe one game, that the Carolina Panthers will fight you all four quarters.


"Coach has come in here with that. This was a brand win. We knew what time it was going to be. We were back on P.J. at quarterback, dinged up here and there, but nobody cares. You've got to go out there willing to fight, and for us, that's what we did as a family, we fought for each other, and it showed today."