CHARLOTTE — The Panthers got the offense where it needed to be.

There's work to be done on the other side of the ball, and they're running out of people to do it.

The Panthers couldn't get enough stops and fell 34-24 to the Bengals Sunday at Bank of America Stadium on an afternoon when yet another defensive captain was injured.

Middle linebacker Shaq Thompson was carted to the locker room in the fourth quarter and did not return with what was announced as a heel injury.

At the end of the final play of the third quarter, he appeared to realize something was wrong and slowly sat down on the field. He was attended to by the medical staff and taken to the blue tent, but moments later, he was taken inside on a cart with a towel over his head as he took the ride.

As that cart ride was happening, linebacker Josey Jewell went down, immediately filling the vacancy in the medical tent that Thompson had just created. He was announced as suffering a hamstring/groin injury, and he didn't return.

That left them short on personnel, and they didn't start in a great place, with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown on injured reserve (along with anticipated starters Jordan Fuller and Dane Jackson, though Jackson is getting closer to a return), and nose tackle Shy Tuttle inactive with a foot injury.

That just amplified an existing problem, as the Panthers couldn't get enough pressure on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to cause him many problems.

Burrow threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yard touchdown to Ja'Marr Chase, and the Bengals ran for 141 yards.

And they kept the ball enough to keep the Panthers at arm's length. By converting 7-of-13 third downs, the Bengals were able to control possession to get their first win of the season (1-3).

After forcing the Bengals to punt on their first set of downs, the Panthers then allowed touchdowns on the next four possessions.

And even when they forced the Bengals to punt in the third quarter, a mishap from their own punt team got away from them.

Punter Johnny Hekker's fake attempt was on target to tight end Feleipe Franks, but Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony poked the ball away from Franks, stealing what would have been the moment of momentum they needed.

— The Panthers got a moment of hope in the fourth quarter when Xavier Woods picked off Burrow.

It came after a pressure by Jadeveon Clowney, and gave the Panthers the ball in good field position.

— The Panthers got another big game from Hubbard, with 104 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Rookie wideout Xavier Legette also got his first NFL touchdown, and celebrated with a horse-riding celebration that might have stolen the show on another day.

Dalton also hit Diontae Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown, building on the connection that started last week in Las Vegas.

There were drops and some other problems, but it was another sign of progress on offense, which they'll need in the weeks to come.