Nothing is finer than 8-0 Carolina on a well-received NFL Sunday

Antonio Brown, Sammy Watkins, Delanie Walker — what a Sunday for guys who can catch.

But who in the NFL can catch the Carolina Panthers?

That’s right, the team once dismissed as smoke and mirrors — missing its star receiver, mind you —is now 8-0 after a 37-29 victory over Green Bay.

New England and Cincinnati are 8-0, too, meaning more teams have gotten to this point without a defeat than at any other time in the Super Bowl era.

Denver fell from the ranks of the undefeated, thanks to a 27-24 loss at Indianapolis. Peyton Manning flirted with NFL history in that homecoming, but wound up three yards shy of breaking Brett Favre’s record for career passing yardage. That honor can wait.

The bigger quarterback disappointment came at Pittsburgh, where the Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger to a foot injury. According to various reports, he’s expected to miss at least a couple of weeks after suffering a mid-foot sprain in the fourth quarter of a 38-35 victory over Oakland. He was making just his second start after missing a month of games because of a knee injury.

As for the Panthers, they just keep rolling.

Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth, and his team survived its second scare in six days to maintain an unblemished record. Once again, the Panthers flirted with disaster down the stretch but came away victorious.

“We make it tough, I don’t know why,” Carolina tight end Greg Olsen said. “It’s almost like we’re torturing ourselves.”

Rewind the tape to last Monday and watch the Panthers fritter away a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter against Indianapolis, only to win in overtime. Against the Packers, Carolina had a 37-14 advantage in the fourth, but Green Bay scored 15 unanswered points and was knocking on the door to score again when linebacker Thomas Davis intercepted a fourth-and-goal pass with 1 minute 54 seconds left.

“It wasn’t a pretty eight [games], but it is eight,” Newton said. “And that’s gorgeous in itself.”

The Packers, meanwhile, are hoping to avoid being behind the 8-ball after back-to-back losses. Aaron Rodgers threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns, but his most memorable toss came on the bench, when he flipped his electronic tablet to the ground in frustration after watching a replay of the deciding interception.

“We had an opportunity for a pitch-and-catch touchdown,” he said. “And I got scared by something.”

For the Panthers, the message was “Not in our house.” That was also the message of Newton, who before the game ripped down a homemade Green Bay banner that adorned a wall at field level.

“We take pride in having an edge and playing in Bank of America Stadium and playing in front of the Carolinas every week,” the quarterback explained, “and it’s something that I feel it was my due diligence to protect.”

Pittsburgh protected its home turf, too, even after losing Roethlisberger. The Steelers got a tremendous game from Brown, who had 17 receptions for 284 yards, both club records, including a catch he turned into a 57-yard gain on the winning drive.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) celebrates after he makes one of his 17 catches against the Raiders on Sunday.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Brown’s was the most prolific receiving performance of the weekend, although others were plenty strong. Buffalo’s Watkins, back from a bad ankle injury, caught eight passes for a career-high 168 yards in a 33-17 trouncing of Miami.

Watkins recently caused a dust-up when he referred to his critics as “losers” on his Instagram account. His detractors had said he was too soft and didn’t play through injuries.

“I just put it behind me,” he said. “I felt like I owed it to the fans, to the team, and to the organization.”

Tennessee tight end Walker had seven catches at New Orleans — three of them coming on ricochets off the hands of defenders — in a 34-28 upset of the Saints.

Titans rookie Marcus Mariota threw for personal bests of 371 yards and four touchdowns, helping newly promoted interim Coach Mike Mularkey pick up his first victory.

“I’m still shaking,” Mularkey said. “It was an absolutely great win for this team. They are so competitive and want to win so badly. Never once did they flinch.”

Frosty in Minnesota

The Vikings beat St. Louis in overtime, 21-18, despite losing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a concussion early in the fourth quarter. He slid to the ground after a short scramble and was hit in the head by diving cornerback Lamarcus Joyner. Bridgewater appeared to be unconscious for a moment. Eventually, he walked slowly off the field and then to the locker room for evaluation, and did not return to the game.

Afterward, Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer said yes when asked if the Rams played dirty.

Said Zimmer: “If we were out on the street, we probably would have had a fight.”

Without naming him, Zimmer made reference to Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the central figure in the Saints’ alleged pay-to-injure bounty scheme.

“There’s a history there of their defensive coordinator,” Zimmer said, later adding: “We’re a disciplined football team. That’s why we’re the least-penalized team in the league. Because we play by the rules. We continue to play by the rules. Just because other teams don’t do it doesn’t mean we’re [not] going to do it.”

On the run

The Rams-Vikings game was also a showdown of two of the league’s hottest running backs. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson put up better numbers than St. Louis rookie Todd Gurley.

Peterson rushed for 125 yards in 29 carries, with a touchdown. It wasn’t a bad day for Gurley, who had 89 yards and a touchdown in 24 carries but saw his streak of four consecutive games with 125-plus yards rushing come to an end.

The Vikings are 6-2 and off to their best start since 2009, when, with Favre at quarterback, they lost the NFC championship game at New Orleans.

A fresh start

It’s so far, so good for Blaine Gabbert.

Five days after San Francisco benched Colin Kaepernick in favor of Gabbert, the struggling 49ers came away with a 17-16 upset of Atlanta at home. Gabbert, making his first start in more than two years, had two touchdowns and two interceptions in what Coach Jim Tomsula called “a great day.”

Gabbert left the game for two plays in the fourth quarter after taking a big hit from linebacker Philip Wheeler, who was flagged for roughing the passer.

The Falcons, who won their first five games, have lost three of four.

A pointed response

When it’s doling out fines this week, the league will be sure to take a look at Denver cornerback Aqib Talib, who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after reaching through the facemask of Dwayne Allen with two fingers and poking the Colts tight end in the eye.

The egregious incident happened when Allen was engaged in a post-play argument with Broncos linebacker Von Miller, and Talib came over to join the fray.

Numerology

Peterson, who wears No. 28, has 28 career games with at least 125 yards rushing. That places him sixth in NFL history in that category. The five players in front of him are all in the Hall of Fame: Barry Sanders (46), Jim Brown (41), Walter Payton (38), Eric Dickerson (36) and Emmitt Smith (34).

sam.farmer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesfarmer