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Marshall's sweet catch leads later to a Foreman TD (0:20)

Terrace Marshall Jr. catches a pass from D'Onta Foreman and runs for a touchdown. 0:20.

6:00 AM ET

The offensive linemen wore black ski masks to Friday's walk-through to send a message that they wouldn't be embarrassed by the cold weather.

That wasn't it.

The game at Bank of America Stadium was played on a cold day with the Detroit Lions losing 37-23.

Carolina rushed for a single-game franchise record320 yards, including a team-record 240 in the first half, during which Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman became the first pair of backs to each top 100 first-half rushing yards since the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006

The team record of 548 was shattered by the offense with 570 total yards.

Moton told them to beat Christmas.

The Carolinas improved to 6-9, leaving them a half-game behind the Buccaneers, who play the Arizona Cards on Sunday.

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Carolina can win the division by winning at New Orleans and at the other side of the country.

Pittsburgh limited Carolina to 21 yards rushing. Carolina's 2010 record of 30 degrees in the season finale was surpassed when the temperature was 20 degrees at the start of the game.

Interim coach Steve Wilks challenged his line to re- establish control.

Austin Corbett said the idea of the ski masks was perfect.

The running back said the masks were a way for the team to stay focused on the last two games of the season.

He said how they were going to attack it. The way they arrived was the way it was. I really liked it.

From the first moment, the mindset was obvious. Hubbard ran for 30 and 35 on the first two plays. He became the first player since Doug Martin in 2012 to have three 30-plus yard runs in a half.

Hubbard had 125 yards on 12 carries by the end of the game after finishing the first half with109 yards on six carries.

Hubbard said that the coach talked about showing the true character of the person. The thing showed.

The quarterback improved to 3-1 since taking over as the starter. He completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 250 yards and a touchdown.

Since taking over from Matt Rhule after a 1-4 start, interim head coach Steve Wilks has emphasized the type of football he likes to play. The type of football he thinks opponents don't want to see is when players are banged up.

He uses smash-mouth football. In three of their last four games, the panthers have rushed for 185 or more yards. The team believes it can sustain this formula against New Orleans and the other teams.

In a game earlier in the season, Carolina ran for 173 yards, and in a game a few weeks ago, San Francisco ran for over 200 yards.

The New Orleans Saints were ranked 23rd against the run in the early season game.

The true character of the football team will be revealed by the way they respond. The football team we played against was really good.

Everything that we do begins at the beginning.