The Carolina Panthers just clinched the No.2 NFC playoff seed, a first-round bye and a home playoff game either Jan.10 or 11 by winning a 33-31 thriller at New Orleans.
Carolina lost all of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, as New Orleans stormed back with 21 fourth-quarter points to take a 31-30 lead.
But then Steve Smith out-jumped two Saints for a huge 39-yard completion that could have just as easily been intercepted. Jake Delhomme hit Muhsin Muhammad with another key completion and John Kasay lined up for a 42-yard field goal to win it with 0:01 remaining. It was good -- Kasay had missed from 41 yards earlier in the game and ended the game 4-for-5.
The final drive was for 57 yards and one of the most important comebacks Delhomme has ever led. Smith's catch has to be the play of the game.
Kasay had a chance to win the New York Giants game, too, at the end of regulation, but just missed from 50 yards out. Kasay then kicked the ball out of bounds and Drew Brees had one final chance from his own 40, but Brees threw an incompletion -- also falling short of Dan Marino's single-season record by only 16 yards -- and Carolina was victorious.
The Panthers won't know their home playoff opponent until after the games of Jan.3 and 4 are played.
We're moving!
8 years ago
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16 comments:
The Panthers got lucky this time. They need to put two halves of good football together or else it is going to be a short playoff run. I think this team is a whole lot more talented than they are showing on the field.
#1 WHEW!!!
#2 Memo to John Fox, spend the next two weeks making the defense watch tape of the 4th qtr over and over and over until they get it right!
#3 What was Kasay doing kicking off on that final kickoff? That's supposed to be the only thing we have Rhys-Lloyd on the roster for!!!
Totally agree with John!
Why does Carolina fade away in the second half of the game? We need to continue to finish and score, my god New Orleans they score points!!!!!!!! we needed to score 40 pts. Thankfully, Steve Smith caught that pass or we would be the 5th seed. Don't play to preserve the win but, lets play to win the game!!!!!!
Mr Fox
I'm 56 years old, have a history of heart problems and two stents. Mr. Fox PLEASE DO NOT EVER DO THAT AGAIN !!!!!!!! 3 TDs in the 4th quarter ???????? Whats with that ??? But congratulations on being NFC South champs
As said so many times before this team lacks the killer instinct a true champion has. I believe it is an issue with the coaches and plays called, not the players. We won but I am so frustrated in how we won.
Fox and Trgovac almost blew this one, idiotic second half play calling for the second week in a row after a dominating first half.
memo to fox, play to win! Quit this, get a lead and try to run out the clock crap, its going to cost us a Super Bowl
Lucas has to go! His skills are gone - time to find a replacement.
Fox - you went into your conservative hole again in the second half and it about cost us the game.
Chandler- don't you DARE give the coaching staff a passing grade like you did last week!! We fade away in the second half because the coaching staff has ZERO confidence in Jake Delhomme - that's obvious.
Evidently we didn't learn a thing from the Giants loss. Can we learn something from this close win?
We should've stepped on the Giants throat last week in second half and didn't, then they turn around and do the exact same thing against Drew Brees this week.
If not for a great and tough catch by Smith we are 5th seed and no home playoff games, no bye to get healthy.
Stupid stupid stupid
Fox should just let Jake, Smitty, and DeAngelo cut loose so we can BURY them but instead he wimps out!!
SOMEONE NEEDS TO KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO FOX!!!
TCCOX that's hilarious about the effect it has on our hearts but that's why Fox needs to BURY the opponent to avoid these CARDIAC ARREST endings!!
Again Kasay had to pull their butts out of the fire. This is getting old. The Cats fail to show up in the second half and either blow the game or barely squeak by. It's almost like the fourth squad shows up at the halfway point and the first squad went home to recouperate. They either play the entire game with a fire inside or go home really early in the playoffs. I'll take the win but it scared the heck outta me.
We looked like a Super Bowl team in the first half and the Detroit Lions in the second half. We don't know how to play sixty solid minutes.Where is that "killer instict".Great teams finish the job without cardiac arrest.
We played to win in the first half and then played not to lose in the second half.
Damn near backfired. We can't keep counting on Kasay to bail us out.
We are so fortunate to have him.He did miss a very makeable 41 yd. field goal which would have taken the tension out of the fourth quarter, but God, the guy is human....
Somebody please explain why we kicked the ball out of bounds with one second left. Reminded me of another game that we played in Houston on February 1st, 2004.
I need to see my doctor before the playoffs start....
Thanks for the memories and a very exciting season.Please, discover your true potential in the post season, because when you play to your ability on both sides of the ball, nobody can beat you...
Best wishes...
Trilled with the win, division title, and 1st round bye (you guessed it), BUT the defense must play better or we will not win in the divisional round. We were very lucky to win today. You cannot expect the offense to continue to score near 30 points per game in the playoffs. You cannot expect Williams to continue to have these huge games. You cannot expect Steve Smith to continue to make terrific catches of horribly thrown passes into double coverage. Ken Lucas needs to wake the f@#* up. He has been burned the entire second half of the season, especially the last four games. DBs need to get up on the line of scrimmage and bump the WRs. Coaching staff did a better job bringing the blitz, but the DBs need to bump the WRs at the line to give the blitzers that extra second or two to get to the QB. Most important is the attitude the entire team has when it has a lead. They relax. They laugh & joke on the sidelines. There is no "killer instinct" anywhere on this team, especially the coaching staff. The proof is in the last two weeks during the two biggest games of the season when big 2nd half leads have vanished. We are 1-1 in those and very, very lucky to have the one win. I'm sure there will be comments saying I'm not a "true fan". However I feel that a true fan of any team is realistic and honest. Defense is just not a playoff caliber defense right now; add that to the poor attitude of this entire team and that spells trouble come two weeks.
Jonathan said it best...we need to learn to step on our opponent's throat. The poor play calling has begun at the end of the second half in two straight games. We need to remember what John Kreese said: "FINISH HIM!"
Wow...incredible, that you could see so much bitching about a team that has matched its best record in history and is the #2 seed in the playoffs. I wish we still had a coaching legend like George Seifert around.
Procton,
Again your comments are those of a complete idiot. Fox’s play not to lose mentality cost us the #1 seed and nearly cost us the #2 seed. Your idol Delhomme is the worst QB in the division and you stated Williams was a bust and a wasted daft pick. You need to concern yourself with the "academic rigors" (LMAO) of Catawba College and leave commenting about the Panthers alone.
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