CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The playoff-bound Panthers had to make a choice: Rest some ailing starters or play them in pursuit of a confidence-building victory.
The Lions made it an easy decision.
Carolina rested five starters, but still managed one of its easiest wins of the season, beating Detroit 20-14 on Sunday and sending the Lions into infamy with their 24th consecutive road loss, a league record.
"You have to operate in the present," Carolina coach John Fox said. "The idea of building momentum going into the playoffs was critical, but I really don't think any of the five guys would have been ready to play."
Carolina's fill-ins did just fine, holding Detroit in check as the Lions passed the 1981-84 Houston Oilers for successive road losses. The Lions have not won away from home since Dec. 17, 2000.
"It eats me alive and makes me absolutely sick to my stomach to think about it," Lions guard Ray Brown said. "Everybody on the team is part of the streak and it's nothing to be proud of."
The Lions had eight first downs and 106 yards of total offense. Quarterback Joey Harrington only played until midway through the second half before Mike McMahon replaced him, but the two combined to go 7-of-19 for 53 yards.
Jake Delhomme threw two touchdowns and John Kasay hit two field goals to lead the Panthers.
Despite winning its first division title in seven years, very few of Carolina's wins came easily. Seven of its 10 victories are by three or fewer points and eight came in the final two minutes or overtime.
And as much as Carolina needs confidence-building wins to close out the regular season, allowing ailing players time to heal is a priority.
So running back Stephen Davis, center Jeff Mitchell, defensive tackle Brentson Buckner, defensive end Mike Rucker and cornerback Terry Cousin watched from the sideline.
Their replacements did fine. DeShaun Foster ran for 76 yards and had six catches for 38 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme. Rookie Bruce Nelson's first career start at center was without incident.
Detroit was nearly shut out, but two big plays made the final score closer than the game actually was.
Reggie Swinton returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown to cut Carolina's lead to 20-7 with 12:02 left.
Then Foster fumbled on a late catch and Boss Bailey scooped it up and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers didn't aggressively try to stop Bailey's return, thinking Foster's drop shouldn't have been ruled a fumble. Carolina challenged, but the call was upheld and the Lions cut it to 20-14 with 3:44 to play.
"That showed a lot about this team," Lions cornerback Dre' Bly said. "We could have easily folded, but we didn't."
