Week 1 probably didn’t go quite as planned for the Carolina Panthers. While their performance against the Denver Broncos this time around was noticeably better than the largely dreadful Super Bowl showing, it still wasn’t enough to avoid a crushing 21-20 loss last Thursday.

But it’s been a week now, folks. So let’s finally move on from the head-hunting, the tooth-flossing and pretty much anything involving the Broncos being a thorn in the Panthers’ side.

Instead, we’ll take a look six things you should know for this Sunday’s contest where Carolina hosts the San Francisco 49ers for their 2016 home opener.

Related Cam Newton returns to practice

1. Chip off the old block

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton should be pretty well-acquainted with 49ers head coach Chip Kelly by now. In addition to his two NFL meetings with Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles during the 2014 and 2015 campaigns, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player also matched up with the offensive guru in the BCS National Championship Game in 2011.

If you include that collegiate-level game, one where Newton’s Auburn Tigers edged out Kelly and his Oregon Ducks, Cam has completed 60.2 percent of his passes on Chip’s defenses for 768 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. And if you strike that title game from the record, Newton has led the Panthers to a 1-1 mark on similar 60.9 percent clip for 503 yards, three scores and six picks.

Regardless, Carolina won’t be facing the Eagles or the Ducks this weekend. Heck, they won’t even be facing the same San Francisco defense that limited Newton to a career 64.7 passer rating against the 49ers, his lowest versus any opponent he’s faced at least twice.

Newton, rather, will be seeing a unit that, despite pitching a shutout on Monday night, is still learning to gel with one another in their second game under a totally new regime.

2. The franchise

Speaking of No. 1, Newton will have a chance to make history in the team’s home opener.

Cam enters Week 2 with 118 career passing touchdowns, just two shy of Jake Delhomme’s franchise record. Delhomme played seven years in Carolina, throwing for 120 scores add 19,258 yards in a Panthers uniform. Through five seasons and a single game in his sixth, Newton has amassed 18,457 passing yards to go alongside his 118 end zone chucks.

And a darker note, however, Newton is only three sacks away from tying Steve Beuerlein for most sacks accumulated by a Panthers quarterback. Hopefully for Cam, he sees the latter come to fruition well after the former.

3. Lookin’ for home cookin’

Carolina has been consistently inconsistent their home openers during the Ron Rivera era. Since 2011, the Panthers are 3-2 in their first outings at Bank of America Stadium.

Their three victories include nods over the New Orleans Saints in 2012 (35-27), the Detroit Lions in 2014 (24-7) and the Houston Texans last season (24-17). And although they ultimately fell, the Panthers did play admirably close to the soon-to-be Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in 2013 (12-7) and the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers (30-23) in 2012.

A win over the 49ers on Sunday would stand as the third straight home-opening success for the Panthers, potentially the first such streak in the organization’s history.

4. Can we get an encore?

Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin returned last Thursday and did it with a bang.

The third-year pass catcher put in some eye-opening work on a stout Denver Broncos defense, racking up six receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown that came on the Panthers’ first offensive drive. In fact, he’s just the sixth wideout over the past two seasons to go for at least 90 yards in a game against Denver.

But if his rookie season is any indication, Benjamin may not be in for a memorable encore on Sunday. In 2014, he totaled five games of 90 receiving yards or more. None of the following games, though, saw him get past 76 yards.

Benjamin went from 92 yards to 46 after Week 1, 115 to 76 after Week 3, 94 to 18 after Week 8, 109 to 56 after Week 11 and 104 to 47 after Week 15.

5. Rushing around

In another not-so sparkling trend from an individual standpoint, the Panthers have not been churning out the greatest single-game performances out of their backfield.

Over their last nine games, including postseason play, Carolina has had only one 100-yard rushing output. That day came at the feet of running back Jonathan Stewart, who dashed the Seahawks for 106 yards in the divisional round back on Jan. 17. The last time the Panthers did it in a regular season game was when Stewart, again, rushed for 125 yards against Kelly, his former Oregon coach, and the Eagles in Week 7.

While intriguing since Carolina is a run-heavy offense, this stat shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering Newton and fullback Mike Tolbert often hawk away some of Stewart’s carries. But he could have a chance to change that vibe as he faces a 49ers defense that, despite limiting Los Angeles Rams back Todd Gurley to 47 yards on 17 touches on Monday, is coming off a 2015 campaign where they allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the league.

6. Take it away

The Panthers’ 39 takeaways led all of football during the 2015 season. And that mark certainly doesn’t come without an impressive streak.

After a fumble recovery by linebacker Shaq Thompson on the Broncos’ first possession Thursday, Carolina chalked up their 15th straight contest in which they caused at least one takeaway. The Panthers would finish the night with two more robberies as linebacker Thomas Davis and cornerback Bené Benwiekre went on to pick off Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian.

49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who has 31 interceptions to 34 career touchdown passes, should give Carolina quite a few opportunities to add on to the total. If not, the Cincinnati Bengals, who hold the next closest active streak with 10 games, could be the new gatekeepers of the stat.