CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Quarterback Cam Newton let the snap slip through his fingers at the Indianapolis 1-yard line in the third quarter. Middle linebacker Luke Kuechly let a game-saving interception slip through his fingers with two seconds left in regulation.

Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. let a potential game-winning touchdown pass slip through his fingers in overtime.

But in the end, the Carolina Panthers didn't let a 7-0 record slip away, beating the Indianapolis Colts 29-26 Monday night on a 52-yard overtime field goal by Graham Gano.

And even Gano missed an extra point in regulation in what at times were monsoon-like conditions.

But as tight end Greg Olsen keeps saying, you have to win when you don't bring your A-game to be a championship contender.

"We're not going to throw ourselves a parade tonight," Olsen said after Carolina won its 11th straight regular-season game dating back to last season. "But we beat a good team that gave us their best shot in adverse conditions when we played very poorly, especially in the first half.

"We'll take it."

The Panthers were over this one quickly, and players were looking ahead to Sunday's showdown against Green Bay (6-1).

As they did after each blunder described above, they keep moving forward.

"If you're not able to fight through that adversity, if you're not able to continue to press forward, you're not going to last in this league very long," Olsen said. "That's who we are. That's what we've been able to show the last four or five years.

"We've been building toward something."

No player personifies Carolina's ability to put bad plays behind it better than Kuechly. He didn't think twice about the dropped would-be interception, understanding that he gave the Panthers a chance by knocking down the pass.

In overtime, he came back with the interception off a tipped pass by Roman Harper to set up Gano's game winner.

"We don't win pretty; that's not what we do," Kuechly said. "We just find a way to win at the end, and that's what makes it fun here -- we keep it exciting."

This one was closer than it should have been. The Panthers led 23-6 with just under 11 minutes remaining against a Colts team with a struggling quarterback in Andrew Luck.

Then Luck all of a sudden began looking like one of the league's top players again and the Carolina defense looked vulnerable, giving up two touchdowns and a field goal to send the game into overtime.

But nobody panicked. Nobody pointed fingers, not even after Ginn dropped what would have been a 56-yard touchdown down the left sideline.

"It's football," said Newton, who also threw an interception to go with two touchdown passes. "We can't sulk, sit up and complain about different things that we can't control. The play was over with.

"But nine times out of 10 ... well, hell, 10 out of 10 times, I'm throwing it back to him."

That's the mentality of this football team. That's why it is the only undefeated NFC team.

It found a way to win a game it appeared to let slip through its hands, setting up an even bigger game against the Packers.

"It's everybody really stepping up," Harper said. "It's huge to bounce back after you missed the extra point. That's what you've got to have. It's not going to be easy.

"This is the NFL. Every week you've got to earn your victories. We went out there and did that tonight, even though we gave everybody some free football."