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December 1, 2003
Panthers get 'kicked'
Kasay falters on three field-goal tries, extra-point attempt; Philly takes lead in race for home-field edge in NFC playoffs
By Joe Menzer | JOURNAL REPORTER
The Carolina Panthers went into yesterday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles hoping to be crowned NFC South division champions by the end of the day.
But the Panthers missed wide right, losing 25-16 before 67,678 fans at Ericsson Stadium as kicker John Kasay missed three field-goal attempts and an extra-point attempt.
For Kasay, it was one of the worst days in his 13-year career. Coach John Fox of the Panthers rarely admits to being surprised, but Kasay's performance caught him off guard.
"John had a bad day," Fox said. "He's been a very good kicker for us this season. But he had a tough day to the point of missing an extra point, which is 10 points off the board (when the missed field goals are added in)."
The loss, the second in a row for the Panthers, left them with an 8-4 record. The Eagles improved to 9-3 to move into position for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Panthers were in no mood to talk about the playoffs. Defensive end Mike Rucker said: "We let opportunities and chances slip away in all three phases of the football game. That's stuff that we have to correct if we want to be a good football team heading into the playoffs. In fact, we shouldn't even be talking about the playoffs.
"We've got to start winning football games around here again to even think about the playoffs, and the last two weeks we haven't been able to get that job done."
It was Rucker's interception of quarterback Donovan McNabb on the game's first play that set up Kasay's only successful field-goal attempt from 20 yards early in the first quarter. But the Panthers couldn't punch it into the end zone for a touchdown after Rucker gave the offense the ball on the Philadelphia 36-yard line - a prelude to a frustrating day.
The Panthers were forced to settle for Kasay's field goal after quarterback Jake Delhomme attempted to run for the touchdown on third down and was stopped at the 2-yard line.
It was the first of four occasions in the first half when the Panthers would advance the ball inside the Philadelphia 20, and it was the only time they came away points.
Kasay's first miss wide to the right came from 32 yards out toward the end of the first quarter. He missed again from 38 yards after a fumbled punt by the Eagles that was recovered by Mike Caldwell gave the Panthers the ball at the Philadelphia 22. The next three plays by the Carolina offense produced just two yards.
"John Kasay struggled a little bit today," Delhomme said. "But if you look at it, you can put the blame on me because that means we're not getting the ball in the end zone. As the quarterback, you need to get the ball in the end zone in any way, shape or form that you can. It doesn't matter how. We didn't get points, plain and simple.
"Field goals are nice, but you have to score touchdowns to win in this league."
The next time that the Panthers had a chance to kick a field goal, they didn't attempt it. And the Eagles stuffed running back Stephen Davis on fourth-and-1 from the Philadelphia 8-yard line, adding another tally to the list of missed scoring opportunities.
It appeared that the officials initially signaled that Davis had converted the first down, but a subsequent challenge gave the Eagles the ball.
Meanwhile, the Eagles were methodically taking control of the game. They built a 13-3 lead by early in the third quarter when David Akers kicked a 48-yard field goal.
That came on the drive following Kasay's third miss - a 49-yarder.
The Panthers pulled to 13-10 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to wide receiver Steve Smith late in the third quarter. But the Panthers then fell behind 22-10 when the Eagles scored twice on a 38-yard field goal by Akers and a 10-yard touchdown pass from McNabb to wide receiver James Thrash.
Even when Delhomme hit wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 6:42 to go, momentum escaped the Panthers when Kasay missed the extra-point attempt. But again, all the blame could not be placed entirely on Kasay. He appeared to make the extra point, but was forced to kick it over from 5 yards further back after tackle Matt Willig was called for a false-start penalty. Kasay hooked the second attempt to the right, leaving the score at 22-16.
The Panthers never mounted another serious scoring drive.
"One thing about this league is that you expect the unexpected," Fox said. "John Kasay is a guy who has been very reliable for us, and for whatever reason he didn't get it done today. But I don't think that is the entire reason we lost.
"We had breakdowns in other areas, in the red area, and obviously the missed field goals had something to do with that. But they were three of four (in scoring points) when they were in the red area (inside an opponent's 20-yard line), which usually is the difference in a football game."
• Joe Menzer can be reached at jmenzer@wsjournal.com