P.J. Walker threw for 258 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start Sunday and the much-maligned Carolina defence earned its first shutout since 2015. The Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 20-0 win over the Detroit Lions.
His career path took a detour through the XFL, where he turned heads by throwing 15 touchdown passes as the Houston Roughnecks won five straight before the league folded due to the pandemic. He signed with Carolina after Matt Rhule, his coach at Temple, accepted the Panthers job.
Rhule made Walker the starter over Will Grier less than two hours before kickoff when Teddy Bridgewater was officially ruled out with a knee injury.
One week after allowing 46 points to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, the Panthers limited Matthew Stafford to 178 yards passing and sacked him five times. Detroit was limited to 40 yards rushing and was blanked for the first time since Oct. 18, 2009..
Stafford played despite a thumb injury that prevented him from taking a snap under centre all week in practice. He said after the game that it didn't bother him.
The Lions have a short turnaround as they return home to face the Texans on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
with files from AP NFL: /AP_NFL