Carolina Panthers vs Detroit Lions Box Score on Oct 08, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 8, 2017

DETROIT -- Cam Newton completed 26 of 33 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns to help the Carolina Panthers earn a 27-24 road win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Panthers seemed in firm control with a 27-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Lions mounted a furious comeback.

Detroit closed to within 27-17 with 5:48 remaining in the game on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to tight end Darren Fells.

Following a Carolina three-and-out, the Lions closed to within 27-24 with 3:22 remaining on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Fells.

On the next possession, the Lions forced Carolina into a third-and-9 from the Carolina 24-yard line, but Newton hit wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin for a 17-yard passing play on the last play before the two-minute warning to give the Panthers what turned out to be the game-clinching play.

The Lions were out of timeouts, so after the two-minute warning, the Panthers took three kneel downs to end the game.

The Lions took a 10-3 lead with 13:32 left in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run by Zach Zenner, which capped off a nine-play, 78-yard drive that saw Carolina commit two face-mask penalties and a pass interference penalty in the end zone on the play before Zenner's run.

Carolina answered right back on the next possession, as running back Christian McCaffrey took a shovel pass from Newton and scored from 6 yards out to tie the game 10-10 with 11:04 to go until halftime.

In the final minute of the first half, Carolina took its first lead of the game on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Newton to wideout Devin Funchess. The scoring play came on third-and-goal.

Carolina opened the second half by scoring on its first possession, going up 24-10 with 10:43 left in the third quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Newton to Benjamin.

After recovering a Stafford fumble at the Detroit 23, Carolina ended up taking a 27-10 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Graham Gano with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter.

Tight end Ed Dickson caught five passes for 175 yards for Carolina (4-1), which sacked Stafford six times in the game.

Stafford went 23 of 35 for 229 yards and two touchdowns in defeat for the Lions (3-2), who lost for the second time at home this season.

NOTES: The 3-yard touchdown run for Lions RB Zach Zenner in the first quarter was his first of the season. Zenner rushed for four touchdowns last season. ... The touchdown reception in the first quarter for Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey, the team's No. 1 draft pick this year (No. 8 overall), was the first touchdown of his NFL career. ... Detroit DL Haloti Ngata left the game in the first half with an elbow injury and didn't return. ... Panthers WR Devin Funchess, who was playing in front of family and friends since he is a native of Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, left the game with 12:58 left in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury. He did return on Carolina's next possession. ... Carolina had 11 penalties for 100 yards, while Detroit had one penalty for 10 yards.