returned to the lineup after mi sing last week with a rib injury and lead the to a convincing over the . Our takeaways: looked excellent in his return. He didn't lose any of the velocity on his fastball, which he displayed often (22-of-34 pa sing for 281 yards and Dirk Nowitzki Jersey a TD). Newton showed some rust early, but spread the ball around to his receivers and picked apart the ' D. SuperCam isn't going to change the way he plays. He still got Josh Green Jersey out and ran and looked mobile in space. The only question is the initial burst off the surgically repaired ankle. He got tackled on some plays he generally bounces out of. The reminded us how tough-minded they are as a team. The offseason questions were answered: Carolina remains a legit playoff contender. The defense slowed down a high-powered offense and got pre sure without . This is still a very, very good defense without the pa Antonius Cleveland Jersey s rusher. Some of the luster fell off following his glowing . The quarterback reverted to forcing pa ses to too often and woefully under threw on a ball that was picked off. Stafford still looks much more in control of the offense and displayed that improved footwork. However, the 26-year-old quarterbacks' improvement under is clearly a proce s. It was a typical road lo s for the . Despite controlling play early and racking up yards, Detroit mi sed two field goals, turned the ball over three times Maxi Kleber Jersey , mi sed tackles and dropped pa ses. The more things change the more they stay the same. Neither team could run the ball. The clearly mi sed . The ' offensive line couldn't open lanes for the second consecutive week. So much for that "' sad receiving corps" storyline. Newton completed pa ses to seven different targets. Veterans and showed they can still play big Dorian Finney-Smith Jersey roles in a po se sion offense. In two weeks, has 14 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. struggled at bit in his first game with Newton (3 drops), but .