Steelers vs. Panthers 2014: How to watch ‘Sunday Night Football’ online

Coming off a disappointing defeat on Thursday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers are well rested for their showdown in Carolina against the 2-0 Panthers. The Steelers have the benefit of extra rest having played on Thursday, but will have to go on the road to play the Panthers. The road hasn't been kind to the Steelers recently. They have won just three of their last nine road games dating back to last season. Carolina, meanwhile, has won eight of its last nine at Bank of America Stadium.

Last week, the Steelers struggled all game to bottle up Baltimore Ravens running backs Bernard Pierce and Justin Forsett. Their defense, a polarized mix of inexperienced youngsters and worn down veterans, will have its work cut out for it this week against the more dangerous Panthers attack. However, Pittsburgh has a potent ground game of its own, with Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount serving as a wrecking ball tandem that opponents have been unable to contain.

The Panthers finally regained the services of franchise quarterback Cam Newton last week. Newton had missed the season opener with a rib injury. While still short of 100 percent, Carolina's athletic signal caller is primed to pick apart the Steelers aged secondary and run through it's front seven.

Despite playing behind a suspect offensive line, Ben Roethlisberger remains a dangerous passer. Averaging over eight yards a pass, Roethlisberger has spread the ball around fairly evenly this year, his third in coordinator Todd Haley's offense. Leading receiver Antonio Brown already has over 200 yards and three plays of 20 yards or more, but Markus Wheaton and Bell don't lag far behind. Wheaton has 135 yards on 11 catches with two 20+ yarders of his own. Bell has a nearly identical stat line as a receiver, catching just as many passes for the same number of big plays and 136 yards.

In his first start, Cam Newton threw only one touchdown and didn't score on the ground. However, he completed 22 of his 34 passes for 281 yards, an average of a robust 8.3 yards per attempt. His primary targets have been tight end Greg Olson and rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin. Both have produced 69 yards or more per game in 2014, with Benjamin averaging over 17 yards per catch.