PHILADELPHIA — It might not have been pretty, but sometimes you have to just continue to swing.

(That sounds close to a motto, now that you think about it.)

And that's what the Panthers did Sunday, coming to Philadelphia and leaving with a 25-14 win over the Eagles that would have made Sylvester Stallone proud.

Of course, Tommy Tremble hitting a Rocky celebration after his touchdown helped set the theme, but it was a Rocky II kind of day, with both teams struggling to their feet throughout the day, before one team got up late.

The Panthers finally got the kind of steadiness they needed from the run game, with Chuba Hubbard grinding away for 28 carries for 120 yards.

And their offense was mostly eventual, with Bryce Young finishing with 281 yards passing, and a second touchdown to Tremble which provided enough margin in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia, playing without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and their first three running backs (including some guy named Saquon Barkley), struggled offensively. And a lot of that had to do with the Panthers, who continued to pressure backup quarterback Tanner McKee throughout the day.

They held the Eagles to 222 total yards (just 35 on the ground), and sacked McKee three times.

And late in the game, it was about the little things.

From Derrick Brown batting passes at the line of scrimmage, to Anthony Tyus III with the near-blocked punt (it traveled a whole 9 yards), to Zakee Wheatley with a fourth-down pass breakup on a deep ball to DeVonta Smith, the Panthers made timely plays in the second half to overcome a slow start.

They're not going to get a lot of style points, but they got the win, and that was the point.

Penalties remain a problem

Rookie cornerback Will Lee IIIwas flagged for two pass interferences in the first half, the second one leading directly to an Eagles touchdown.

Couple that with two ineligible-downfield penalties on guard Robert Hunt, and special teams issues, and it was a frustrating first half.

The Panthers were flagged eight times for 105 yards in the first half alone. They finished with 13 for 149 yards, which Dave Canales called "outrageous."

"That's not our football," he said.

The Panthers had three good returns in the first half negated by penalties. A pair of Trevor Etienne returns for 13 and 24 were negated, along with a 50-yard kickoff return by David Moore.

Those penalties were on Thomas Incoom and Feleipe Franks, with Tyrel Dodson's penalty taking away the big one.

Injury updates

The Panthers found themselves short-handed on defense in the first half, with injuries stacking up at another position.

Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips left the game late in the first quarter, walking off slowly with the athletic training staff. He did come back in the second half, helping create some late pressure.

He was questionable on the final injury report of the week.

In the second quarter, Incoom left the game after a calf injury on a return. He stayed down considerably longer, and did not come back into the game.

That left them with just Princely Umanmielen, Patrick Jones II, and Trevis Gipson at the position until Phillips came back in a limited role in the second half.