Someone close the doors at Ford Field, because it must be a little gusty in there. Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions in the first quarter, the first being an egregious one. The second was after the Panthers bailed the Lions out with an unnecessary roughness penalty to give the Lions the ball in Carolina territory. However, Stafford's next attempt to go deep to Calvin Johnson in triple coverage was tipped and intercepted in the end zone.
Behind a 29 yard run by Deangelo Williams and a third-and-11 conversion, the Panthers were able to put themselves in field goal range. Olindo Mare hit the easy 27 yard field goal to put the Panthers up 3-0.
On the ensuing possession, Lions running back Keiland Williams fumbled on a third-and-one and the Panthers recovered in Detroit territory. Cam Newton ultimately threw a 15 yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to give Carolina a 10-0 lead.
Matthew Stafford is just 5-of-10 for 55 yards and two interceptions. The Lions have two yards rushing and a fumble on seven carries against the usually soft Carolina run defense.