CHARLOTTE — It was cold. It was raining. It was a mess. And in the third and fourth quarters, the fans were alternating between chanting Keep Pounding, and Chu-ba, Chu-ba, Chu-ba, for the running back who returned to pacing the Panthers' offense with dirty runs, the kind that grind away at the clock and at opponents' resolve.

Everyone heard it.

But the Panthers' offensive line, a group that has lived out its own story of resilience this year, felt it deep in their souls.

"Oh, 100 percent," Panthers center-for-now Austin Corbett said with a grin. "It's dirty. It's grimy. It's the rain. I love the TV shots we always have of it's cold out, and you just see the breath coming off our faces, right? And then we take the helmets off, you see the steam coming off our heads.

"That's the best. It's just grimy. It's football. It's what you live for as an offensive lineman."

And for the Panthers, this was the kind of day they've come to expect from a group that's known nothing of stability, but continued to put up good results throughout the year.

The Panthers started their 10th different combination of linemen in 13 games Sunday, with Jake Curhan in at right guard (the fifth player to start there), and Corbett back at center (where he started the season, and has filled in since returning from IR when he wasn't playing left guard or right guard).

There are a lot of moving parts, but also a lot of familiar faces.

Game-by-game starting offensive lines

Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has only missed one game. Left guard Damien Lewis has only missed one. Right tackle Taylor Moton has missed two, as well as one series at the beginning of the second half. But he came back to finish, because of course he did.

They have guys like Corbett, like Yosh Nijman, in reserve. And a relative newcomer like Curhan, who signed here in October off the Cardinals practice squad, after time spent with Panthers head coach Dave Canales in Seattle made him a known commodity.

Canales talked about the resilience, but also the way run game coordinator Harold Goodwin and offensive line coach Joe Gilbert worked the group as keys to being able to do this.

"It's just work ethic," Canales said. "It's Goody and Joe. It's the way that they structure the meetings. They're always talking. When you go out there on the field, whether it's a defensive period, you're going to see the offensive line on the side working on something. They're going to be working on a what-if front, a what-if pressure with our protection plan. It's during special teams, they're just constantly working, constantly talking.

"It's that type of camaraderie and communication that it requires to play really good football."

That might explain the way they've been able to pull this off week after week, with all the changes.

Ekwonu pointed to the example of a player like Corbett, who signed here in 2022 to be a guard, was moved to center when they signed Lewis and Robert Hunt in 2024, and battled back from injuries to start this year at center, lost that spot to Cade Mays when he went on IR, but has filled in at all three interior positions and been a backup as well since coming back.

"It just speaks to the guys, the type of players we have on this team," Ekwonu said. "Guys that are just ready, waiting for the opportunity, guys that can, you know, we can plug and play anywhere. And guys are just ready for the opportunity to come in and step up.

"I mean, it's just like a mentality. You know Corbs is a faithful man, so just staying prayed up and just praying, just knowing that you know when the opportunity comes, I'll be ready for it, and I feel like he's definitely been encapsulating that."

As that group has worked together, it has allowed a lot of other parts of the offense to adjust.

The run game has had its ups and downs. Last week, Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard combined for nine rushing attempts. Sunday, they combined for 35 carries for 141 yards.

The passing game has also gone in fits and starts, but Sunday, limited a top-10 Rams defense to just two sacks (they had 31 in 11 games) while Bryce Young threw for three touchdowns.

When other pieces of the team have had lapses, the offensive line has been constant, even though the personnel hasn't been.

"I attribute that to not just the guys because it's not easy to play in the NFL, let alone just step up one week and have to ball out, and these guys have done that," Hubbard said. "Our line is the best in the league in my opinion. The guys are resilient, great guys off the field as well, but I attribute that also to the coaches, getting the guys ready and making sure they're ready. Goody and Gilbert, obviously, are just great, great coaches.

"The whole offensive line room, even the tight ends and the receivers, everyone's just playing, playing as one."