EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This was different, sure.

But it was also familiar.

So for the Panthers' offensive line, another week of changes led to a result of the kind they're getting used to, in a 13-6 road win against the Jets that moved them to 4-3.

"We have a next man in mentality," veteran right tackle Taylor Moton said, before extending that praise to run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, offensive line coach Joe Gilbert, and offensive quality control coach Dean Petzing.

"Just the whole staff getting whoever's up ready to roll," he continued. "And ultimately, I'm loving all the guys I'm playing next to and have the utmost confidence in anyone who steps in."

Part of that is because even though the combinations are new, the people are ones they know well. One of the benefits of keeping your top nine linemen from last year is that there's a certain continuity even when there's change.

They started their sixth different combination of blockers in seven weeks, with left guard Damien Lewis (the only one of them who had started every game prior to Sunday) inactive because of a shoulder injury suffered in practice on Thursday. That put veteran Austin Corbett back in the lineup in his first week back from a stint on IR because of a knee injury.

And while it wasn't a dominant rushing game like the last two weeks, they knew that was going to be tougher against a Steve Wilks-coached Jets defense that was looking for its first win of the year.

They still managed to run for 125 yards, and only allowed two sacks, the kind of gritty game you hope to have when you're dealing with as much as the line group has dealt with as much as they have (considering Pro Bowler Robert Hunt and Chandler Zavala remain on IR).

"The front office has done a great job of keeping us all around," said Brady Christensen, who started at right guard Sunday but has started at all five positions in his career here. "And there are a lot of us who have a lot of experience, and so I think that helps a lot."

In fact, Christensen was having flashbacks all the way back to 2022, when he, Corbett, Moton, and Ikem Ekwonu started the regular season finale together at New Orleans. And when he got a congratulatory text from his then-coach James Campen after the game, it brought that point back home.

"Other than the center, it's a pretty familiar-looking group, Christensen said, alluding to the fact that Bradley Bozeman was in the middle that day, and Cade Mays is there now. (Mays was a backup that day in New Orleans, the sixth-round rookie contributing as well). "It was kind of like a flashback."

And for Corbett, that carried some emotions as well.

That day in New Orleans included a torn left ACL, which started a long cycle of rehab for him, that left him sometimes wondering if this day would come. He sprained his MCL upon his return in 2023 and tore a biceps tendon early last season after moving to center. This year, he was two games in when he tweaked left MCL again, the same day Hunt suffered a torn biceps.

So he wore the emotions of Sunday's assignment on his face. He thanked everyone by name in the athletic training and strength and performance staffs, all the way to the interns (Aubrey and Kate, he did not forget about you), because he didn't want to forget any of the many people who helped him get back here.

"I love every single one of those people," Corbett said, emotions welling up with every name he said. "Like I need to not spend so much time with them, but I absolutely love them, absolutely love that they're here for our benefit.

"They do such a phenomenal job of returning to play and rehabbing, making sure guys are healthy, making sure guys are right, and getting the reps that they need to be able to get out there. And so they said I was cleared, and so I had full confidence that that's what we're going to go do."

But if Lewis isn't hurt on Thursday, he's likely watching, and that's fine with Corbett, too, because after everything he's been through, he's grateful to be here participating.

"That's what it's about; it doesn't matter your role, you find your role and you run with that," he said. "This is why I wanted to come here, from the Rams in '22, I knew this team had the people. And it's taking a little bit longer than expected for sure. I just had that feeling like I knew so many guys on the roster at the time, I knew the people that were here, and that's what I wanted to be a part of.

"We're seven weeks in now, and it feels great. And I'm going to love that all day of October 19th of 2025, and tomorrow it doesn't matter. We've got to get back to it. We've got another game, and that's just how this league works. And you can look at it in the offseason and have all the fun and enjoyment, and you know you can reflect then, but like right now, absolutely it's amazing to get here, you get the first road win of the year, and tomorrow we go right back to it."

Backup quarterback Andy Dalton knows this group well. He stood behind most of them in 2023 at some point, and as they've continued to build and add depth and talent, he's gained even more trust in this line.

"We are so fortunate to have the group that we have," Dalton said. "Everybody that we have up front has played a ton of ball, has started games in the NFL, and regardless of the shuffle of guys, who's playing what spot, all that kind of stuff, there's a ton of experience and a lot of trust in those guys.

"So we're very fortunate that we have the group that we have."