They've been nearly unstoppable of late, running for 563 yards and seven touchdowns in their past two games at home. On Monday night, they combined for 301 yards and four touchdowns against Tampa Bay, one of the better defenses in the league.

That has to be a little unsettling for the Denver Broncos, who enter Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium having allowed 17 rushing touchdowns on the season and 140 yards per game on the ground.

The fact that the Panthers have re-established themselves as a power running team is a tribute to general manager Marty Hurney and coach John Fox, who consciously looked to remake Carolina into a downhill running team this past off-season.

The Panthers had, at least personnel-wise, drifted away from their roots, a conviction that had helped them reach the Super Bowl in 2003.

So they set a course for change.

And, as good fortune would have it, the perfect replacement parts were available to fix the problem at hand. Now it was just a matter of getting them.

"Our philosophy never really changed," Hurney said. "We have had that philosophy since John came here in 2002. We knew we have always wanted to run the ball and be a downhill running team. But we decided to tweak some things. We wanted to try to get as good as we could at it and find guys that fit into our formula, which was to run the ball, play good defense and be solid on special teams."

First, the Panthers re-signed Travelle Wharton to a huge contract and moved him to left guard. They made Jordan Gross their franchise player and dumped Mike Wahle and Justin Hartwig. Ryan Kalil, a player they simply couldn't pass up on in the second round of the 2007 draft, was named the starting center.

There was still the matter of shoring up the right side of the line.

When free agency began they signed three big linemen - all weighing more than 325 pounds. Although only Keydrick Vincent would stick with the club, he would prove to be an important pickup because of the strength and veteran stability he brought the right guard spot. That would be important because of what the Panthers would do a few weeks later in the draft at the position next to him.

Although many suspected the Panthers would address their glaring need at right tackle with their first pick, Fox and Hurney had another plan in mind.

The Panthers set about finding the right guy not to replace, but to complement the shiftier DeAngelo Williams, and Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart just so happened to be the perfect fit.

They held their breath and hoped he'd fall to No. 13 like they thought he would.

And he did.

"We were fortunate that Jonathan was there," Hurney said. "We knew DeAngelo was talented and improving. But we also knew that when we'd been successful in the past we had two very good running backs."

The Panthers didn't have much time to celebrate landing Stewart.

It was onto the phones.

With still a glaring need at right tackle, Hurney found a trade partner in Philadelphia. In a move that reeked to some of desperation at the time, the Panthers pulled the trigger on one of the biggest trades in team history, sending a 2009 first-round draft pick and second- and fourth-round picks in 2008 to the Eagles for the right to move up to the 19th spot and take 335-pound road grader Jeff Otah from Pittsburgh.

While some viewed the move as a gamble, nobody is second-guessing the Panthers now.

"We thought very highly of Jeff," Hurney said. "It was a big investment, yes, but the thing that didn't make it a gamble for us is that we felt he fit into the formula that had worked here in the past and a formula that fits into our personality. We knew we gave up a lot to get him but he fit into what we wanted to be."

Just like that, the Panthers had reinvented themselves as a power running team.

They'd gone back to their roots.

Sure, it took months of hard work on the field to implement the new plan, but the Panthers - now 10-3 and in first place alone atop the NFC South -- are now reaping the rewards of the willingness to admit status quo wasn't good enough.

There's little doubt that Williams is the best running back the Panthers have ever had and, by extension, this is the best offensive line they've ever employed.

The Panthers have already scored more rushing touchdowns (23) than in any previous season, the previous high being 17. And, they've already run for 1,900 yards on the season and are on pace to shatter the franchise rushing record of 2,091 set in 2003.

"It's what we are built around," coach John Fox said of the running game. "It's something we worked on. Props to Marty Hurney, the personnel department and (director of college scouting) Don Gregory. I think we got bigger and more physical up front. And those two backs are both pretty special. That's what we tried to build around and we have the people to do it. We're going to try and do it more consistently moving forward."

SERIES HISTORY: 3rd regular season meeting. Broncos lead series 2-0. This is the first time the two teams have ever played in Charlotte.