TAMPA, Fla. – You know your offense needs a bit more juice when your defense has as many catches in a game as your leading receiver.

View photos Cam Newton avoids a sack vs. the Buccaneers. (Getty) More

Brenton Bersin had four receptions in the Carolina Panthers' 37-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers here on Sunday, and the Panthers' defense had four interceptions of Jameis Winston. Josh Norman's 80 yards on two interceptions was nearly two-thirds of the total receiving yards for the Carolina offense. That says a lot about the quality of Carolina's defense, but it also raises questions about whether a 4-0 team is ready to beat a team like the Green Bay Packers or Seattle Seahawks. Cam Newton isn't just the leader of the offense in Carolina; he's the whole offense. And on Sunday he had only 124 yards passing.

"It's not pretty, but we're getting wins," said Ted Ginn, Jr., who had two catches Sunday and two touchdowns.

Asked if it needed to be prettier, Ginn said, "Yes, definitely. I think we all want to go out and just dominate – both sides of the ball."

Head coach Ron Rivera didn't sugarcoat either. "The offense has its moments," he said. "We need to be realistic about our evaluation going into the bye."

On the other side of the bye is Seattle, a team the Panthers have scared on multiple occasions but not beaten in the last three years. Their battles have been mired in defensive struggle, but the big offensive play hasn't come and the Panthers have lost. What's to suggest it will be different this time? And even if it is, how will this team match up against the Packers when they visit Charlotte next month?

Newton takes the pressure onto himself, though it's been all on him from the start. "I still haven't played up to my potential," he said Sunday. But there's a limit to that potential when your game-breaker is Ginn. Kelvin Benjamin was a terrific red zone target before he went down with a season-ending injury during training camp, but the Panthers needed more options for Newton even with him healthy. Ginn and Jonathan Stewart and Greg Olson are all good players, but 4-0 doesn't happen very often and Carolina has to decide what it can do this season to make the offense more explosive.

"We're still a work in progress but we're starting to get things clicking," said running back Fozzy Whitaker. "Continue to be who we are, creating our own identity."

View photos Ted Ginn Jr. pulls in a seven-yard TD reception during the second quarter against the Bucs. (AP) More

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