Carolina Panthers (12-4) NFL 2008 Regular Season

NFL 2008 Game 1: Carolina Panthers 26, San Diego Chargers 24

The Carolina Panthers opened the NFL 2008 regular season on the road against the San Diego Chargers. Despite outgaining the Chargers in total yards in the first quarter, 150-67, the Panthers were held scoreless thru the first quarter. Carolina had a chance to score early but their second drive of the game stalled on downs at the Chargers' one-yard line.

In the second quarter, the Panthers scored first on a Kasay 44-yard field goal. The Chargers responded by scoring their first touchdown of the season on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Chris Chambers. The Panthers responded with two more Kasay field goals (33-yards, 30 yards) to lead at halftime, 9-7.

In the third quarter, the Chargers scored on Kaeding's 27-yard field goal to take the lead at 10-9 but at the end of the quarter, Antonio Gates was stripped of the football after making a third-down catch for first-down yardage. The Panthers' Chris Gamble recovered the fumble and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown and a 16-10 Panthers lead. Panthers kicker Kasay added a 49-yard field goal to extend the Panther lead to 19-10.

The Chargers rallied from a 19-10 deficit to take a 24-19 lead with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter. First, the Chargers drove the ball 80 yards in six plays to score on a 24-yard TD pass from Rivers to Gates. Then, after a Panthers turnover, the Chargers scored again on a five-yard pass from Rivers to Vincent Jackson to take the lead.

But the Panthers put together an 11-play, 68-yard drive over the final 2:27 and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to tight end Dante Rosario with no time left on the clock.

• - Panthers 2 12:35 Kasay 44 yd field goal [10-58, 4:57]
• - Chargers 2 9:34 Chambers 44 yd pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick) [6-80, 3:01]
• - Panthers 2 4:23 Kasay 33 yd field goal [11-56, 5:11]
• - Panthers 2 0:08 Kasay 30 yd field goal [11-55, 2:45]
• - Chargers 3 5:10 Kaeding 27 yd field goal [12-51, 7:10]
• - Panthers 3 1:29 Gamble 31 yd fumble return (Kasay kick)
• - Panthers 4 10:09 Kasay 49 yd field goal [7-16, 4:34]
• - Chargers 4 6:45 Gates 24 yd pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick) [6-80, 3:24]
• - Chargers 4 2:27 Jackson 5 yd pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick) [6-28, 2:29]
• - Panthers 4 0:00 Rosario 14 yd pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick) [11-68, 2:27]

NFL 2008 Game 2: Carolina Panthers 20 Chicago Bears 17

The victory ended a four-game losing streak in regular season home openers for the Panthers, who had not won a home opener since defeating Jacksonville, 24-23, in 2003.

Punter Jason Baker and kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd helped neutralize Chicago punt/kick returner Devin Hester, limiting him to a 4.5-yard average on two punt returns and a 21.7-yard average on three kickoff returns. The Bears had an average drive start of their own 23-yard line. Baker generaged a gross average of 48.3 yards and net average of 38.5 and equaled his single-game best with four punts inside he 20.

NFL 2008 Game 3: Minnesota Vikings 20, Carolina Panthers 10

The Carolina Panthers jumped out to a 10-0 advantage over the Vikings on the road, but fell victim to mistakes and turnovers while failing to generate a ground game for the first time this season. Quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked five times and the Panthers committed 12 penalties in gaining 47 yards on the ground.

The Vikings generated a 19-play drive in the third and fourth quarters that lasted 11 minutes, 34 seconds and resulted in a 32-yard Ryan Longwell field goal.

NFL 2008 Game 4: Carolina Panthers 24, Atlanta Falcons 9

(September 28, 2008 Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, NC)

The Falcons (2-2, 0-2) found a way to stick around for three quarters in Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium but injuries, dropped passes and untimely penalties filled the afternoon. Atlanta lost starting strong safety Lawyer Milloy in the first half after he took a shot to the ribs and played the entire game without starting left tackle Sam Baker. Holding calls extended the field on offense while six dropped passes kept the team from picking up momentum. The Falcons finished the day 2-of-13 on third down.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme finished the day 20-of-29 for 294 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He worked heavily against Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes with wide receiver Mushin Muhammad (eight catches for 147 yards and a score). Later in the game Delhomme worked the middle of the field attacking safeties Erik Coleman and Jamaal Fudge, who replaced Milloy.

Wide receiver Steve Smith, in his second game back after a twogame suspension ran through the Falcons secondary to get open on a 56-yard touchdown play.

The Panthers (3-1, 1-0) lost starting offensive tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah in the game to injury and also went several series without starting cornerback Ken Lucas. But that didn't stop the NFC South leaders from imposing their will on both sides of the ball and put up more than 400 yards of total offense.

Atlanta got the ball to start and escaped a game-changing play from the Panthers defense. Ryan's first pass attempt was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Richard Marshall but the play was reversed after a roughing the passer call on defensive end Julius Peppers. Another personal foul penalty helped the Falcons move into Panthers territory but the team would be forced to punt.

The Panthers answered with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by rookie Jonathan Stewart. Unlike two weeks ago in Tampa, the Falcons clawed back earlier in the game. The Falcons didn't convert a third down in the first half, but a no-huddle offense kept the Panthers off balance enough to create scoring opportunities.

Unfortunately those scores came from the foot of Jason Elam. The Falcons stalled in the red zone as league rushing leader Michael Turner was held to 56 yards on the ground.

The veteran kicker connected on field goals of 33, 44 and 44 yards in the opening half to keep it a one-score game into the third quarter. The Panthers responded, however, with two scores in the second half - - a field goal and the game-clinching touchdown pass to Muhammad.

The Falcons were benefactors of strong special teams play throughout the game and got select strikes on offense. Defensive end John Abraham got the first blocked punt of his career. That set up a field goal, as did a 40-yard run by Jerious Norwood near the end of the second quarter.

NFL 2008 Game 5: Carolina Panthers 34, Kansas City Chiefs 0

NFL 2008 Game 6: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, Carolina Panthers 3

NFL 2008 Game 7: Carolina Panthers 30, New Orleans Saints 7

The Panthers converted two Saints turnovers into touchdowns. The New Orleans Saints built a 7-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter.

However, Julius Peppers jarred the ball loose from tight end Jeremy Shockey and Chris Harris recovered the fumble. Four plays later, running back Jonathan Stewart ran 18 yards for a touchdown and a 10-7 lead. A lead the Panthers would not relinquish as the Panthers scored 27 unanswered points.

On the Panthers first drive of the third quarter, quarterback Jake Delhomme connected with wide receiver Steve Smith for a 39-yard touchdown pass, to extend the Panthers lead to 20-7.

Delhomme threw his second touchdown pass of the game with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter when he found running back DeAngelo Williams from four yards out.

On offense, Jonathon Stewart finished the game with 68 rushing yards and one touchdown on 17 attempts. Jake Delhomme was 14-of-22 for 195 yards with two touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 122.3. Steve Smith had 122 receiving yards and one score on six receptions.

On offense, Julius Peppers finished the game with four tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass defensed. Cornerback Ken Lucas notched his second interception of the season while linebacker Thomas Davis led the Panthers with nine tackles.

NFL 2008 Game 8: Carolina Panthers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

The Carolina Panthers overcame a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals at home, 27-23.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme completed seven-of-eight second half attempts to rally the Panthers to three third quarter touchdowns. Delhomme finished the day with 248 yards on 20-of-28 passing and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 122.3. Wide receiver Steve Smith was the recipient of both touchdowns as he went over the century mark for the third consecutive game with 117 receiving yards on five catches, including scoring strikes of 18 and 65 yards.

After allowing a Cardinals touchdown drive just five minutes into the second half, a 31-yard Jeff King reception set up a 15-yard touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams to cut the deficit to 17-10. Williams finished with 108 rushing yards on 17 carries. Two plays later, defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu jarred the ball loose from Arizona's Edgerrin James and Thomas Davis recovered on the Arizona 18-yard line Delhomme found Smith on the next play for the tying touchdown.

Arizona responded with an 11-play, 78-yard drive to retake the lead. The extra point was muffed, leaving the Cardinals with a 23-17 advantage.

Delhomme found Smith again on Carolina's next offensive possession, connecting from 65 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Linebacker Jon Beason intercepted Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner deep in Panthers territory to help seal the victory. Despite the late interception, Warner completed 35-of-49 attempts for 381 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Panthers were led by Beason and cornerback Chris Gamble, who eached recorded a team-high eight tackles. Defensive end Charles Johnson added two sacks, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

NFL 2008 Game 9: Carolina Panthers 17 Oakland Raiders 6

NFL 2008 Game 10: Carolina Panthers 31 Detroit Lions 22

NFL 2008 Game 11: Atlanta Falcons 45, Carolina Panthers 28

(November 23, 2008 The Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA)

Michael Turner isn't one for flamboyant end zone celebrations. But the mild-mannered running back couldn't help celebrate a bit after a fourth-down touchdown run with 7:13 remaining in Sunday's victory over the Panthers.

An approving Georgia Dome crowd roared as the running back scored his third touchdown of the day. The gutsy play gave the Falcons a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead and sparked an exciting close to a 45-28 victory. Atlanta (7-4) scored 28 fourth-quarter points in the win.

Attitude was everything for the Falcons, who got off to an early ,17-0 lead, withstood a Panthers surge and put the game away when it counted. It mattered most after Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme rushed for a 12-yard touchdown with 10:57 left in the game. Carolina (8-4) pulled within three, 24-21, with a two-point conversion.

Matt Ryan and the offense faced a quick third down on the next possession, but the quarterback found rookie wide receiver Harry Douglas on a 69-yard pass play to the Panthers 6. Four plays later Turner got his key, fourth-down touchdown.

The Panthers faced an energized defense and a raucous crowd on the next possession. Defensive end Chauncey Davis recorded his second sack of the day and back-to-back false start penalties backed Carolina into the shadow of its own goal line. The Panthers punted from the end zone, giving Douglas a chance for a big return. The rookie brought the kick back up the middle 61 yards for a touchdown.

Delhomme found Muhsin Muhammad for a touchdown on the next series but the Falcons had already done plenty of damage. Still, Turner found the end zone for a final time with just 54 seconds to play.

The NFL's leader in rushing touchdowns (13) also surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the 2008 season. He rushed for 117 yards Sunday as the Falcons pulled within one game of the NFC South lead.

Atlanta out-gained Carolina 162-0 in the first quarter thanks to solid defense and ball-hogging offense.

The Falcons darted down the field on the first series of the game but settled for a field goal. That was followed by touchdowns from Douglas and Turner.

Carolina scored 10-straight points in the third quarter negating some of the work the Falcons did in the opening half. But, when it mattered most, the team found a way to hit the accelerator.

NFL 2008 Game 12: Carolina Panthers 35 Green Bay Packers 31

Last week the Panthers travelled to Lambeau Field to face a Packers team that has not fared well over the past five games posting a 1-4 record. Despite the Packers dismal November, winning at Lambeau Field is always a difficult task even though the Packers are 3-3 at home this season.

The Packers climbed their way back from an 11-point halftime deficit to eventually grabbed a seven-point lead.

After falling behind 21-10 at halftime, the Packers were seemingly unstoppable in the second half. A 32-yard run by Brandon Jackson set up a field goal and Rodgers hit touchdown passes of 5 yards to tight end Donald Lee and 21 yards to wide receiver Greg Jennings to give the Packers a 28-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.

However, the Packers were undone by poor short-yardage execution at the goal line, shoddy kickoff coverage, and a couple of big plays by Panthers receiver Steve Smith.

Carolina's Mark Jones ran back the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to midfield, and then, Jake Delhomme found Smith deep over the middle for a 36-yard completion down to the 1 yard line. Smith outjumped Tramon Williams for the ball, and DeAngelo Williams ran it in to tie the score with 11:10 left in the game.

The Packers countered with a long clock-consuming drive, moving the ball from their own 20 all the way to a second-and-goal at the Carolina 1. But Jackson, who gained 80 yards on 11 carries in place of an injured Ryan Grant in the second half, was stuffed for no gain. And then fullback John Kuhn, who had been 4-for-4 on the season on third-and-1 conversions, was also stopped short on a dive play, forcing the Packers to settle for a 19-yard field goal and a 31-28 lead with 1:57 to play.

Once again, Mark Jones beat the Packers kickoff coverage for a 45-yard runback. Again, Delhomme went deep to Smith, this time out-leaping Charles Woodson for a 54-yard gain down to the 1 yard line. Williams (21 carries, 72 yards) ran in his fourth 1-yard TD of the game with 90 seconds remaining for what turned out to be the game's final score.

The Packers last opportunity was thwarted when Rodgers, who was 29-of-45 for 298 yards, three touchdowns and a 96.3 rating, scrambled to his right and tried to hit Donald Driver deep. But linebacker Jon Beason intercepted the pass at the Carolina 39, thus improving the Panthers record to 9-3 to remain tied for first place in the NFC South.

DeAngelo Williams had 21 rushes for 72 yards. Steve Smith finished the game with 105 yards receiving. Delhomme was 12-of-17 for 177 yards.

NFL 2008 Game 13: Carolina Panthers 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23

The Carolina Panthers earned a 38-23 home win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-23 on Monday Night Football. The Panthers were spectacular in playing arguably their best game of the season in primetime. The Panthers compiled a franchise-record 299 rushing yards on 37 carries (8.1 avg.) against the Buccaneers, who entered the game ninth in the NFL in run defense. It marked the Panthers sixth victory in their last seven games. More importantly, this signature game convinced many (including myself) that the Panthers are as good, if not better than, as their 10-3 record indicates.

The Panthers ended the Bucanners four-game winning streak.

Carolina established an early 3-0 lead when CB Ronde Barber intercepted Jake Delhomme in Buccaneers territory. Tampa Bay drove to the Panthers one-yard line, but had to settle for a K Matt Bryant field goal to tie the score at 3-3.

The Panthers ended the half leading 10-3 thanks to a Jonathan Stewart two-yard touchdown run. The key play of the drive was a 40-yard DeAngelo Williams run.

Back-and-forth 3rd Quarter

On the first drive of the second half, Bucs safety Jermaine Phillips intercepted Delhomme at midfield and two plays later, QB Jeff Garcia hit WR Antonio Bryant for a 50-yard score and a 10-10 tie.

The Carolina Panthers responded with a long touchdown pass of its own as Delhomme found WR Steve Smith for a 38-yard score. Set up by a 39-yard pass to Bryant, RB Carnell Williams tied the score at 17-17 with a four-yard touchdown run on the next possession,

Panthers pull away in the 4th Quarter

But the Panthers again responded as Stewart ran in from four yards out to give Carolina a 24-17 advantage early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defense forced the Buccaneers to punt on their next possession and Carolina followed with another touchdown run as Williams scampered for a 16-yard score and a 31-17 lead.

With less than three minutes remaining in the game, Garcia found Bryant in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown, but the extra point was blocked and Carolina held a 31-23 advantage. The Bucs onside kick attempt failed and the Panthers secured the victory as Williams scored his second touchdown of the evening on a 36-yard run with 2:07 left in the contest.

Wasted in the Bucs loss was WR Antonio Bryant's record-setting performance (9 receptions for a career-high 200 yards and 2 TDs) and a spectacular one-handed grab for a touchdown in the back of the end-zone.

NFL 2008 Game 14: Carolina Panthers 30, Denver Broncos 10

The Panthers completed their home schedule with a spotless 8-0 record last week, defeating the Denver Broncos 30-10.

Denver scored its only points on its first two possessions of the game before Carolina pulled away, scoring the game's final 20 points to improve to 11-3 on the season.

The Broncos opened the game by putting together an impressive 9-play, 61-yard TD drive. Cutler capped off the drive when he connected running back P.J. Pope from seven yards out. The Panthers answered immediately on the ensuing possession with quarterback Jake Delhomme connecting with Steve Smith three times for 66 yards on the drive, including for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

Denver regained its lead a short time later on kicker Matt Prater's 43-yard field goal with 3:37 left in the first quarter. The field goal came at the tail end of a 10-play, 55-yard drive.

Late in the first quarter, the Panthers took advantage of a Broncos interception that gave them a starting field position at the Denver 31-yard line. Four plays later, John Kasay's 39-yard field goal tied the game at 10-10.

The Panthers took their first lead of the game, 17-10, on their opening drive of the second quarter when running back Jonathan Stewart found the end zone on a 2-yard run.

The turning point of a what was so far a back-and-forth battle came towards the end of the half.

With time winding down in the first half, Carolina again turned a Broncos turnover into points. The Panthers recovered a Denver fumble with seven seconds left in the quarter, setting up Kasay's 44-yard field goal that sent them into halftime ahead 20-10.

Four plays into the second half, Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams broke loose for a 56-yard touchdown run that gave the Panthers a comfortable 27-10 advantage. Early in the fourth quarter, Carolina extended its lead to 30-10 on Kasay's 3rd field goal (42 yards).

2009 Pro Bowler Steve Smith provided the spark for the Panthers last week as he caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Smith compiled amazing stats in the first half with six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers shifted to the running game in the second half.

Running back DeAngelo Williams rushed for 88 yards on just 12 carries and scored his 16th TD of the season against the Broncos.

The Panthers did not allow any sacks against the Broncos allowing quarterback Jake Delhomme time to complete 17-of-26 passes for 253 yards.

NFL 2008 Game 15: New York Giants 34, Carolina Panthers 28 (OT)

Despite DeAngelo Williams 4 touchdowns and solid efforts from Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith and Jonathon Stewart on offense, the Panthers defense surrendered 459 yards against the Giants.

With the NFC number 1 seed on the line, the Giants overcame an 11-point deficit in the second quarter and an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Panthers in overtime. Brandon Jacobs scored his third touchdown of the game for the win, a two-yard run 5 minutes and 3 seconds into the overtime.

The Giants rushed for 301 yards. Derrick Ward ran for 215 yards on 15 carries (14.3-yard average). Brandon Jacobs added 87 yards rushing along with the 3 TDs after sitting out last week's Cowboys game with an injury. Eli Manning was 17-of-27 for 181 yards and 1 touchdown pass.

For the Panthers, DeAngelo Williams scored all four Carolina touchdowns (13-yards, 5-yards, 1-yard and 30-yards). Jake Delhomme completed 11-of-19 for 185 yards.

NFL 2008 Game 16: Carolina Panthers 33, New Orleans Saints 31

The Saints rallied for 21 points in the final quarter in that game to take a 31-30 lead until John Kasay completed one of the best seasons of his 18-year career with a 42-yard field goal for the victory with one second remaining.

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