Carolina Loses. Playoff Hopes Dead In Carolina

Pittsburgh 37, Carolina 3

December 17, 2006

AP - Dec 17, 4:57 pm EST


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It may be too late, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are finally playing like last season's Super Bowl team.

Willie Parker rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score and ran for another to lead Pittsburgh past the Carolina Panthers 37-3 on Sunday, delighting the thousands of their loyal fans who turned Bank of America Stadium into a virtual Steelers home game.

The Steelers (7-7) also blocked a punt and returned another for a touchdown as they won their third straight game and kept their faint playoff hopes alive. The Steelers, who started 2-6, have allowed 13 points in the past three games.

"We've been there before. We've played on the road in December and we've played on the road in January," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said. "This football team knows that mind-set you have to have to win."

It's still going to be difficult for the Steelers to make the playoffs, but Carolina's chances are virtually over after it turned in another stinker.

==================================

If anybody asks, I will be away in mourning all week. Dressed in black and moaning a lot. You won't be able to miss us. A crowd of guys and gals all huddled over bellyaching about the Panthers loss to Pittsburgh. Btw, good luck to Pitt, they'll need it. Have a good week.

Carolina Panthers Lose To Washington Redskins

Washington 17, Carolina 13





LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Seeking his first win as an NFL starting quarterback, Jason Campbell faced a vital third down with his team trailing late in the fourth quarter.

Through his helmet transmitter, he heard his position coach call the formation.

Then silence. The transmitter went dead. Campbell had to call the play himself, based on the players sent onto the field.

"We could tell that there was something wrong," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "But he picked up and just took us out there and we ran the play, and it was big."

The play went for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Chris Cooley caught the pass over the middle near midfield, escaped two tacklers and ran down the sideline for the winning score in the Washington Redskins' 17-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.




"I didn't hear the play that was called," Campbell said. "I just tried to call one of the plays that we worked on all week that would give us an opportunity to make a first down. Fortunately, God was with me when I made that call, and Cooley did a great job of running after the catch."

The victory broke a two-game losing streak for the Redskins (4-7) and made Campbell a winner in his second start, following Mark Brunell's benching. The Redskins responded well to coach Joe Gibbs' call to return to his principles of running the ball and stopping the run, but it took the big play to Cooley on a third-and-8 with 4:26 remaining to beat the Panthers (6-5) in a game dominated by defense.

"I felt like today it was kind of our style of football," Gibbs said. "And it was good to get back to that."

For 3 1/2 quarters, the best highlights were two blocked punts and an incredible fourth-quarter catch by Carolina's Steve Smith at the back of the end zone. Ladell Betts, the Redskins featured running back now that Clinton Portis is out for the year, finished with 104 yards on 24 carries. Campbell threw an interception on the previous drive and had only 52 yards passing when he hit Cooley for the made-up touchdown. He finished 11-for-23 for 118 yards with two touchdowns.

"I've never seen him uncomfortable," Gibbs said. "It's an amazing thing about him. He's got that laid-back personality, and from the day he got here. He's never looked like he was feeling pressure or anything."

The Redskins defense, ranked last in the NFC entering the game, also had its first good game. The Panthers were held to 264 total yards, and the much maligned secondary limited Smith to 34 yards on five catches. Safety Sean Taylor made a tackle on fourth down to stop Carolina's next-to-last drive, and he intercepted Jake Delhomme in the end zone on the Panthers' last possession.

"It's just a steppingstone," Taylor said.




Smith gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead with 7:55 to play when he reached high for the ball at the back of the end zone and managed to have both feet hit the ground inches from the white line for an 8-yard touchdown.

The Panthers defense would usually take over from there. Carolina entered having allowed 10 points in two games since its week off, and the Redskins' only touchdown through three quarters Sunday was set up by a blocked punt by rookie Rocky McIntosh.

But Cooley caught the big pass ahead of Chris Gamble and then broke away from Mike Minter. The loss knocked the Panthers out of first place in the NFC South.

"This one stinks -- especially when I didn't make that tackle," Minter said. "He beat his guy -- 100 percent of the time you have to make that tackle."

No one will mistake either team for an offensive juggernaut anytime soon, and the reputations were kept safe in a first half that included nine punts, no touchdowns and only 91 combined yards passing. The punting duel left the Redskins with good field position for much of the half, but they had to settle for two field goal attempts by Nick Novak. He missed from 37 yards, then converted from 42.

The first blocked punt came near the end of the half. Adam Seward got a hand on Derrick Frost's attempt, setting up a 51-yard field goal by John Kasay that gave Carolina a 6-3 lead.

Carolina rookie RB DeAngelo Williams started for DeShaun Foster (elbow) and ran for 63 yards on 17 carries. ... Delhomme (23-for-38 for 168 yards) passed Steve Beuerlein as the Panthers' career leader in completions and yards. He has 1,055 completions for 12,854 yards. ... Redskins S Vernon Fox, starting for Troy Vincent (hamstring), got his first interception since 2002. ... Novak is 5-for-10 in field goal attempts. ... The Panthers are 1-7 against the Redskins, 0-5 in Washington.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's going to be a very long week. i can tell. When the panthers lose, nothing else goes right in Carolina. Not anywhere in Carolina. Even non-fans of NFLL football or of Carolina concede this fact. To lose to a store-bought team like Washington especially makes this bad news. There went any hope of a playoff spot. However, we forgive you guys. There's always going to be next season. Just come on home and forget about it. The fireplace is warm ....come on in ans sit a sspell..see you people in the morning.

Carolina Panthers Beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - After a 15-day layover to stew about their fourth-quarter meltdown against Dallas, the Carolina Panthers came out so flat on offense that the crowd booed them off the field at halftime. Steve Smith was feeling sick, Keyshawn Johnson fumbled, Jake Delhomme threw an interception and punter Jason Baker was awfully busy the rest of the time. In the second half, the bumbling Tampa Bay Buccaneers bailed them out.

Delhomme threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Johnson for the go-ahead score in the third quarter and Julius Peppers had three sacks and recovered a fumble as the Panthers beat the Buccaneers 24-10 on Monday night to end a two-game losing streak.

Smith was seen repeatedly vomiting into a garbage can on the sidelines, once after a long catch early in the second half. But he stayed in the game, catching eight passes for 149 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter that sealed it.

"My little girl was sick," Smith said, "and so, she's a daddy's girl, kissing on me and so - I got the flu. What happens in the house just goes around the parents."

Smith said he fought through the wooziness, because "this is how I feed my family."

Rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski threw two interceptions and lost a fumble for the Buccaneers (2-7), who committed turnovers on four of five possessions in the second and third quarters to blow a 7-0 halftime lead in their third straight loss.

"I'm just sick about the outcome of the game," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "Carolina is a good football team. We turned the ball over and missed some opportunities to make some big plays."

The Panthers, who had said they couldn't wait to play again after being outscored 25-0 in the final quarter against the Cowboys, managed only three first downs and 98 yards in the first half. Their drives in that half went: punt, fumble, punt, punt, punt, interception.

"The first half we didn't run it well enough, we didn't throw it well enough," Delhomme said. "It was an embarrassment in the first half. Second half we answered. The defense forced turnovers and we made more plays. We did enough things to win in the second half."

Fans, upset with the play-calling and the Panthers inability to run, showed their displeasure early and saved the loudest boos as the Panthers walked off the field at halftime with only three first downs against a team missing three defensive starters to injury, including Simeon Rice.

Carolina scored on four of their first six drives in the second half - but then, the Buccaneers made it easy for the Panthers to come back. Gradkowski's third turnover of the game, a fumble forced by Chris Draft and recovered by Peppers, gave Carolina the ball at the Tampa Bay 44.

Delhomme then found Smith for a 21-yard catch-and-run, setting up Delhomme's 4-yard TD pass to Keyshawn Johnson. It gave Carolina its first lead, 10-7 midway through the third quarter.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, held to 44 yards on 15 carries, fumbled on the next possession and Mike Minter recovered at the Tampa Bay 16. Four plays later Brad Hoover's 5-yard touchdown run put Carolina up 17-7.

"I got careless with the ball," Williams said. "I think my turnover created momentum for Carolina."

It marked the eighth time in nine games the Panthers held the lead going into the fourth quarter, unlike on three previous occasions, the Panthers held on with Peppers, who took over the league lead with 11 sacks, making life difficult for Gradkowski.

Coming into the game with only one interception in 186 games, an NFL record for most attempts without two picks, Gradkowski struggled with his accuracy. He overthrew open Joey Galloway for what would have been a touchdown in the first quarter.

"I have to go out there and not try to do to much," said Gradkowski, who became the starter when Chris Simms suffered a ruptured spleen in the first meeting with Carolina. "I feel like I was competing. Sometimes you just try to do too much."

Gradkowski later underthrew two passes near the end zone, resulting in interceptions for Ken Lucas and Shaun Williams. He even bounced a pass off Peppers' helmet and coach Jon Gruden started screaming at him in the first half.

"I think the first series, we had Galloway wide open. You've got to make those plays," Gruden said. "Then we had (Michael) Clayton at the end of the half and we didn't make that play. It's a turnover. We fumbled the ball in successive series to start the second half. That's a big reason why we lost."

Gradkowski, who was 17-of-32 for 173 yards, did take advantage when Ronde Barber ripped the ball away from the ex-Buccaneer Johnson near midfield late in the first quarter. Five plays later Gradkowski tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ike Hilliard.

That was enough to take a halftime lead on the Panthers. The boos started early when offensive coordinator Dan Henning called for a running play on third-and-11 and DeShaun Foster gained only five yards.

By the end, everyone in Carolina - even Smith - was feeling better with the win.

"It means in the second half of the season," Smith said, "we're 1-0."

Notes:@ Smith, who said he wouldn't return punts anymore after fumbling one against Dallas Oct. 29, returned one punt for no gain in the first half. ... Alstott's second quarter reception moved him past Johnson into third place on the Buccaneers' all-time list. ... Besides Rice, Ellis Wyms (ankle) and Shelton Quarles (knee) sat out for the Bucs. ... The Panthers have won seven of the past eight meetings between the teams.

___________________________________________

Yay, Panthers! Yay, Jake! Yay, SS! This is incredible. I LOVE the Panthers! I just had to blog this. Just turned off the TV. Wow! I was down in the dumps 'cause the Giants lost on Sunday to the Chicago Bears. Felt really bad for Eli Manning, because the Giants did so well in the first half against Chicago. This makes up for everything. I will float through the rest of the week. Just got Prayer Warriors in the AM, so no blog posts. This is the blog for November 15, 2006 See ya!