What a hard-to-watch game if you backed Carolina +2.5. So many bad throws, dropped passes, dumb penalties - just a clinic in frustration. Kelvin Benjamin held on a run play for a first down when Jonathan Stewart had already made it 10 yards down the field and was getting tackled. And how many times can they ask us to watch that Cadillac commercial with the same cut of the same repetitive musical track?

• Cam Newton showed his amazing running ability not only on the touchdown, but also on a few scrambles for first downs. Unfortunately he was wild in the pocket, throwing nearly everything too high, too hard or too deep. (He also threw one ball behind a receiver that was tipped and intercepted and another too late that negated a big play, though Jerricho Cotchery should have at least hung on.) On the rare occasion Newton made an accurate pass, Benjamin or Ed Dickson dropped it.

• Benjamin saw 10 targets, several of which were down field, a few of which were in the end zone, but simply could not get in sync with Newton. I wouldn't be especially worried about him going forward, however, as the opportunities were there.

• Jonathan Stewart ran well, better than DeAngelo Williams, but there's no room for both, especially now that Newton's running again.

• Mark Ingram saw 30 carries, and while some of that was due to Khiry Robinson's and Pierre Thomas' absences, neither should cut into his early-down work too significantly. Of more concern is Ingram's sore shoulder, but he was able to play through it in the second half - oddly, even after the game had been put away.

• Marques Colston is an afterthought at this point, essentially Kenny Stills minus 5-10 yards per route.

• Despite the short week, Jimmy Graham took some big hits and played the entire game, so it's safe to assume he's nearly 100 percent.