CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After surviving a come-from-behind win over the Chicago Bears, the Carolina Panthers go on the road to face the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals Sunday in a contest of division leaders.
The Panthers' hold on the NFC South was precarious as they trailed 21-7 in the second quarter last week, but a combination of Greg Olsen, Cam Newton, and Luke Kuechly plus several unlikely contributors enabled Carolina to secure a 31-24 victory.
Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, and cornerbacks Josh Norman and Bene Benwikere have been ruled out of Sunday's game.
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Coach Ron Rivera is unsure who'll be carrying the ball.
Rivera said Williams' primary backup Jonathan Stewart has made significant strides after missing the last two games with a sprained knee and is questionable. Rivera will make a game-time decision on Stewart.
He said if Stewart plays he'll get the bulk of carries.
If not, Darrin Reaves, Fozzy Whittaker and Chris Ogbonnaya will split carries.
Rivera said Melvin White will start in place of Norman, and Charles Godfrey will work at nickel back with the rookie Benwikere out.
Tight end Greg Olsen and defensive end Charles Johnson are listed as questionable, but Rivera said they'll play.
This will only be the second time the two teams have squared off in Cincinnati, with three of the four previous meetings taking place in Carolina.
The Bengals earned a 20-7 victory the last time these two clubs met in 2010, but the teams have split the overall series 2-2.
Panthers, Bengals winner to determine 'Real Queen City'
The City of Charlotte has announced the Queen City Bowl -- a friendly social media challenge issued to the City of Cincinnati to determine the real "Queen City."
To learn more about the Queen City Bowl, click here, as content will be updated daily.
You can also follow the conversation on Twitter by using #QCBowl.
Read more about the battle for the Real Queen City.
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