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CHARLOTTE -- Ron Rivera is not used to losing. In his last 11 seasons as an NFL assistant coach, Rivera's teams have finished with winning records 10 times and been to the playoffs nine times. So struggling to a 2-8 record is foreign territory for the Panthers new head coach.

Rivera said "losing, and losing the way we have, is tough." The Panthers have lost several close games and Rivera said, "People struggle with it. I struggle with it."

And his players have noticed.

"I can tell it's eating at him," said wide receiver Steve Smith. "Just in the things he says. He's frank. He's straight. But he's also giving guys nuggets to understand that hey, this isn't the norm. This isn't something you need to accept. I respect that and I think that's a nice change of pace."

But Rivera said that while losing is tough, he's trying to stay positive and use the remainder of this season to create some momentum heading into next year.

The Panthers (2-8) hope to start building that momentum on Sunday when they visit the winless Indianapolis Colts.

The Panthers have a lot of positives going for them.

They can be thankful for rookie quarterback Cam Newton, knowing that they have solidified the most important position on the field with a dynamic player who, much like his coach, loathes losing.

Like Rivera, Newton has a strong history of winning, earning national championships at Blinn Junior College and Auburn the last two seasons.

"I was teasing with coach Rivera today and said, 'How do you make a lion a house pet?' You don't do it," Newton said. "That lion is never going to get used to being a house pet. And that's the way I feel. I've never lost as much as I have this year and I'm not going to get used to this feeling. I won't."

Newton raised the expectation level early on for the Panthers.

He did it by throwing for 422 yards against Arizona Cardinals in the season opener and nearly leading his team to an upset in Week 2 against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

While the bar might have been set a little high, Rivera said he didn't mind.

"Nope, because we are good enough," Rivera said.