CHARLOTTE — There are certain players who are hard, if not impossible, to replace. Derrick Brown was that way last year for the defense. And as the year goes on, there will certainly be times they miss Robert Hunt.

But if the Panthers have learned anything while building a deep and talented offensive line, it's that you're going to have to count on everyone at some point.

Sunday, in the first game after Pro Bowl right guard Hunt and starting center Austin Corbett went on injured reserve, an offensive line including Chandler Zavala and Cade Mays was on the field for a statement win over the Falcons.

Again.

While the game was much different than last year's overtime win in the finale at Atlanta, a 30-0 shutout in the home opener at Bank of America Stadium, was even more dominant in the trenches.

And for the holdovers on that line, bringing in new players doesn't change the expectation.

"I mean, I just feel like they've shown it, time and time again," left tackle Ikem Ekwonu said of Zavala and Mays. "Anytime they're called upon, they can fill in any time we need. You know we saw it with Cade, and then we saw it with Chandler a little later last year, but anything we need from those guys, they can do it.

"And you can see today; there's no drop off. We just go out there and just ball as a unit."

The Panthers ran for a workmanlike 110 yards on 30 carries, and you only get that many carries if you earn them. Even those long-short scoring drives were effective, because they could chew four or five minutes off the clock and get points. They also allowed just one sack.

So while it wasn't fireworks like the 44-38 overtime win over the Falcons in January, it worked.

"It says a lot," left guard Damien Lewis said of his new linemates. "I'm very confident in Chan and Cade coming out there doing their job. They're coached well, so hats off out to those guys, they came and played ball today. We were coached for it, so you know, I'm just proud of them stepping in."

Again, these two have done this before. Mays started for Corbett last year and manned the middle when the offense found its stride. And Zavala started for Hunt in the finale, when the Panthers put up the big numbers.

"I feel like our offensive line as a whole is a great group, from the coaches to the players, so no matter who's in there, everyone does a great job," running back Chuba Hubbard said. "So to see those guys step up, Zavala, Ickey coming back quick (from his appendectomy after one week), all these different guys coming back, it was big."

And that confidence manifested itself early in the fourth quarter, when they made their statement and sealed the game.

Faced with a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line and a 20-0 lead, the Panthers could have easily kicked a short field goal and kept it moving. Instead, they brought an extra lineman on the field (practice squader Brandon Walton, promoted for the week) and handed it to Rico Dowdle for his first touchdown as a Panther.

If there was any moment of hesitation, they did everything they could to extinguish it.

"I hope there wasn't any doubt," Ekwonu laughed. "Like the expectation for us, as offensive line, obviously fourth-and-1, that's our down at the end of the day. So it's our job to get to get it done and just glad we got it done today."

"No, we were going for it," Lewis added. "No doubt we were going, we were telling coach, let's go. We're down now, we're ready. So we ran the ball right behind us, so you know I'm just pumped up for those guys.

"It says a lot, you know, a team with great attitude who wanna play for the coach, play for the organization, play for the player beside them. I said we just continue to trust in each other, and the sky is the limit, man. I like what I saw today and we've just got stack this and we can stack another one."