Carolina Panthers are running for the win as they won against the Detroit Lions 24-7 on last Sunday's game.

It was Panthers quarterback Cam Newton who worked out his rusty game in order to return on full throttle. Newton has fractured his rib during the preseason game and his return to the field is exceptional. He threw for 281 yards and a touchdown and ran for 19 yards on four carries, He helped the Panthers improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2008 and grab sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

Newton said "felt like I was getting antsy early on and that comes from a lack of playing time. I was getting my feet back under me and as the game went on I started feeling more comfortable and it showed."

It actually took awhile for Newton to find his rhythm but when he did, he completed 22 of 34 passes and overcame five sacks. He was working his way hard into the game turning the corner inside the 5 and diving toward the pylon.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said "He is obviously going to be sore. He can't help himself (and) he ran a couple of times. He did the best he could with it. The thing that I'm pleased with is once he got the rust off he settled down and made some really good decisions."

But earlier during the same day as the match, Rivera had to make a very difficult decision to deactivate Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy. Hardy was convicted last July 15 on two counts of domestic violence and Rivera didn't think it was right to allow him to play given the events of the week.

He said "It was my decision and it was in the best interest of the Carolina Panthers."

On the other hand, the Lions took a 7-6 lead early in the third quarter when Stafford connected on a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jed Collins, who bowled over NFL Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly en route to the end zone.

But their lead was cut short when the Panthers bounced back and hard to win the game.