DETROIT — The Panthers did not need a fireworks show. They brought a hammer, and the Lions spent most of Sunday trying to get out from under it.

Carolina beat Detroit 24-3, taking control with a fumble recovery, tightening the screws on defense and letting its ground game deliver the knockout blows. Francisco Sather’s team is 2-0, and this was the kind of road performance that makes a statement without asking permission.

The first jolt came early in the second quarter. Lions back Jack Riggins ran for nine yards, then lost the ball; Panthers safety John Copeland forced the fumble and recovered it at the Detroit 37. Carolina cashed in, with quarterback Terrell Stevenson running four yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Panthers added a 32-yard Robert Martinelli field goal in the third quarter. Then the game broke open in a blink. Robert Preston intercepted Paul Huizenga at the Detroit 36 and returned it 13 yards to the 23. On the next snap, John Blum burst 23 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly it was 17-0, and Detroit’s afternoon had turned from uphill to nearly vertical.

Blum struck again in the fourth, taking a handoff 16 yards for another score. He finished with 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Carolina ran for 139 yards as a team and got three rushing touchdowns: Blum’s pair and Stevenson’s early score. Stevenson also threw for 158 yards, though Steven Aguirre picked him off in the second quarter. The Panthers did not play a flawless game; they played a far more convincing one than their hosts.

Detroit finally put points on the board with a field goal early in the fourth quarter, making it 17-3. That was the Lions’ only scoring answer. Carolina’s defense held Detroit to 107 passing yards and 75 rushing yards, forced one fumble, intercepted Huizenga and recorded three sacks. Theodore Fulton supplied two of those sacks. The Lions converted just 5 of 20 third downs; the Panthers needed no dramatic late rescue.

There was a blemish in the visitors’ own ledger: Carolina’s only listed interception came when Aguirre picked off Stevenson. But the Panthers kept the damage contained, and their ground game closed the argument. With one penalty for five yards against Detroit’s six for 48, Carolina also avoided the self-inflicted mess that can give a struggling opponent oxygen.

A 24-3 win is not a declaration that the season is settled. It is, however, a blunt warning: this Panthers team can make a game ugly for the other side, then make it decisive with its legs.