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December 22, 2003
Panthers get victory, rest against Lions
Five starters sit out Carolina's 20-14 win
By Joe Menzer | JOURNAL REPORTER
As the Rolling Stones long ago told the world, you can't always get what you want. They forgot to add that if you don't really need anything, it makes it a whole lot easier.
The Carolina Panthers went into yesterday's game against the toothless Detroit Lions not necessarily needing much of anything - although a loss by the St. Louis Rams to the Cincinnati Bengals would have been nice (it didn't happen). But in grinding out a 20-14 victory against the Lions in front of 62,432 at Ericsson Stadium, the Panthers got pretty much what they wanted.
In Coach John Fox's words, the Panthers "freshened up" five starters who were nursing minor injuries - running back Stephen Davis, center Jeff Mitchell, defensive end Mike Rucker, defensive tackle Brentson Buckner and cornerback Terry Cousin. And despite two late touchdowns by the Lions that made a game of it, the Panthers picked up a victory to improve their record to 10-5.
The Panthers, who clinched the NFC South division title and their first playoff berth in seven years one week earlier with a 20-17 victory at Arizona, close their regular season this Sunday on the road against the New York Giants. By virtue of the Rams' win against the Bengals yesterday, the Rams secured a first-round bye and ended Carolina's hopes of receiving one.
Now, regardless of what happens in the game against the Giants, the Panthers' next game will be played in the wild-card round of the playoffs either Jan. 3 or Jan. 4 at Ericsson Stadium.
Nonetheless, Fox said that yesterday's confrontation with the Lions, who fell to 4-11, loomed large in his mind. It was the 24th consecutive road loss for the Lions, establishing an NFL record.
"This was a big game," Fox insisted. "You have to operate in the present."
As far as not playing the likes of Davis, Rucker and the rest - most of whom said they would return for the game against the Giants - Fox added: "At this stage, where we are, I don't think it's something you risk.... We have able guys, which I thought was evident today, who stepped in and helped us win this football game."
So the Panthers won with Bruce Nelson starting for Mitchell at center, with DeShaun Foster subbing for Davis, and with a number of others who had played little or not at all during the previous 14 regular-season games getting the rare chance to contribute.
They all made it look too easy for a long while, building a 20-0 lead through three quarters on two touchdown passes by Jake Delhomme and two field goals by John Kasay.
Then, the Lions suddenly made it semi-interesting. Reggie Swinton returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. With 3.44 remaining, Foster coughed up a fumble that linebacker Boss Bailey of the Lions picked up and returned 62 yards for a touchdown.
That quick, the Panthers' lead was cut to 20-14.
But these were the Lions, and there are reasons why they haven't won on the road since Dec. 17, 2000. The score might as well have been 200-14.
When the Panthers needed it most on their next possession, the Lions screwed up. On third and 4 just before the two-minute warning, with the Lions desperately trying to get the ball back one more time, Detroit cornerback Dre' Bly was called for defensive holding as Delhomme threw an incomplete pass intended for wide receiver Kevin Dyson. The result was a 5-yard penalty and a first down that enabled the Panthers to keep the ball.
Three plays later, the Panthers faced another third-and-4 situation. Delhomme rolled around the right end and appeared to pick up the first down - plus he was hit late by free safety Brian Walker of the Lions, adding another 15 yards for the unnecessary roughness penalty.
From there, the Panthers ran out the clock.
Delhomme had one of the most efficient days of his career, completing 29 of 35 passes for 260 yards and the two touchdowns - a 20-yarder to wide receiver Steve Smith on the Panthers' opening drive and a 10-yarder to Foster midway through the second quarter. He threw one interception and registered a quarterback rating of 104.8.
"I felt comfortable," Delhomme said. "I had great protection. They played what we anticipated them playing. I didn't try to do anything stupid with the football or try to force too many things."
The Lions, meanwhile, couldn't produce much of anything, no matter what they tried - and they even tried switching quarterbacks from starter Joey Harrington to backup Mike McMahon. Combined, the two completed 7 of 19 passes for 53 yards and had a quarterback rating of 23.4.
The Detroit running game wasn't any better. No one rushed for more than third-stringer Artose Pinner, who managed 22 yards on 12 carries for a 1.8 average. On 21 rushing attempts overall, the Lions had 53 yards for a 2.5 average.
The Carolina offense helped the defense by keeping the ball out of Detroit's hands, as the Lions ran 12 offensive plays in the second half and got 14 yards out of them. The Carolina defense held Detroit to 106 yards of offense - the second-lowest total allowed in team history and the lowest since the record was set in 1995 when the Panthers surrendered 96 yards against Arizona.
The time of possession edge that the Panthers forged in the second half was lopsided, as they held the ball for 23:41, compared to 6:19 for the Lions.
"I thought our football team played very well," Fox said. "We played well offensively and defensively. We maybe didn't play as smart as we needed to as far as securing the ball and (sealing off the) lanes in the kicking game. But we played some young guys because of injuries and I was pleased with the way we moved the ball offensively and with the way we shut them down on defense."
Fullback Brad Hoover said: "We won this one without a lot of guys who are key starters for us, and by playing a lot of guys in the second half who haven't been out there a whole lot, we were able to get some experience. We made some mistakes. They were big mistakes that they were able to capitalize on, but the big thing is that we were able to get another win."
• Joe Menzer can be reached at jmenzer@wsjournal.com