Graham Gano kicked six field goals as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 18-6 in the preseason finale for both teams Thursday night at Bank of America Stadium.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, the reigning Most Valuable Player in the league, didn't play. Carolina has a Super Bowl rematch with the Denver Broncos to begin the regular season next Thursday.

Gano was good from 47, 42, 28 and 41 yards in the first half and 22 and 45 yards in the second half.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also sat out as both teams went almost exclusively with reserves. Landry Jones and Bryn Renner were Pittsburgh's quarterbacks.

Pittsburgh's points came on running back Daryl Richardson's 1-yard run nine seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers, who scored in every quarter, improved to 2-2 in the preseason. Pittsburgh went 1-3.

Third-string quarterback Joe Webb handled the snaps for Carolina, completing 17 of 29 passes for 200 yards.

Running back Cameron Artis-Payne gained 77 rushing yards on 18 carries for the Panthers and receiver Brenton Bersin picked up 89 receiving yards on six catches.

There was no scoring in the final 10 1/2 minutes. Defense dominated for most of the game even though both teams held out regulars on those units as well. Steelers safety Jordan Dangerfield and linebacker L.J. Fort both had 10 tackles.

The game was delayed about 15 minutes at the start because of stormy pregame weather.