Game Center

Talent Take

Arizona's defense no match for Carolina's running game
The Panthers' success on the ground against the Cardinals, who entered as the league's top-ranked rush defense, was a surprise when considering how Jake Delhomme had struggled. With that in mind, the Panthers faced a steady diet of eight-man fronts designed to stop DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart early on. However, the tactic failed miserably as Carolina rushed for 270 yards on 44 attempts and dominated the game. The key to the success was the use of a slot formation against Arizona's eight-man front. By placing both receivers on the same side of the formation, the Panthers were able to draw a defender outside of the box on the two-receiver side due to the threat of a pass to Steve Smith. With fewer defenders able to commit to stopping the run, Stewart and Williams found soft spots when running to the tight end side.

-- Bucky Brooks

Box Score

Carolina Panthers (3-4-0)

Arizona Cardinals (4-3-0)

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
J. Delhomme	7/14	90	1	0
M. Moore	0/1	0	0	0
Rushing	ATT	YDS	TD	LG
D. Williams	23	158	0	77
J. Stewart	17	87	2	19
S. Smith	1	17	0	17
J. Delhomme	1	7	0	7
B. Hoover	1	2	0	2
M. Moore	1	-1	0	-1
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
S. Smith	3	56	1	50
D. Jarrett	2	22	0	17
G. Barnidge	1	7	0	7
J. King	1	5	0	5
Fumbles	FUM	LOST	REC	YDS
J. Anderson	0	0	0	0
T. Brayton	0	0	1	0
J. Peppers	0	0	0	0
Kicking	FG	LG	XP	PTS
J. Kasay	2/2	35	4/4	10
Punting	NO	AVG	I20	LG
J. Baker	6	39.2	1	57
Kickoff Returns	NO	AVG	TD	LG
M. Goodson	3	18	0	33
K. Moore	1	16	0	16
Punt Returns	NO	AVG	TD	LG
C. Munnerlyn	3	15	0	19
Defense	T-A	SCK	INT	FF
J. Beason	8-3	0.0	0	0
C. Munnerlyn	7-0	0.0	0	0
T. Brayton	4-0	0.0	0	0
T. Davis	4-3	0.0	1	0
C. Harris	4-0	0.0	0	0
R. Marshall	3-0	0.0	1	0
S. Martin	3-1	0.0	2	0
T. Tyler	2-0	0.0	0	0
C. Wilson	2-0	0.0	0	0
N. Diggs	1-1	0.0	0	0
C. Johnson	1-0	1.0	0	0
D. Lewis	1-0	0.0	0	0
J. Peppers	1-1	1.0	1	1
H. Thomas	1-1	0.0	0	0
D. Wesley	1-0	0.0	0	0
E. Brown	0-1	0.0	0	0

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
K. Warner	27/46	242	2	5
Rushing	ATT	YDS	TD	LG
C. Wells	8	47	0	14
T. Hightower	8	39	1	15
K. Warner	1	8	0	8
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
L. Fitzgerald	6	66	0	19
S. Breaston	6	57	0	17
T. Hightower	8	57	0	17
A. Boldin	3	23	0	10
B. Patrick	2	18	1	17
L. Stephens-Howling	1	14	1	14
A. Becht	1	7	0	7
Fumbles	FUM	LOST	REC	YDS
S. Breaston	1	0	1	0
K. Warner	1	1	0	0
Kicking	FG	LG	XP	PTS
N. Rackers	0/0	0	3/3	3
Punting	NO	AVG	I20	LG
B. Graham	4	41.3	1	62
Kickoff Returns	NO	AVG	TD	LG
L. Stephens-Howling	4	31	0	53
Punt Returns	NO	AVG	TD	LG
S. Breaston	4	6	0	17
Defense	T-A	SCK	INT	FF
K. Dansby	7-5	0.0	0	0
C. Campbell	6-1	0.0	0	0
D. Dockett	5-0	0.0	0	0
G. Hayes	5-3	0.0	0	0
B. McFadden	4-0	0.0	0	0
C. Okeafor	4-3	1.0	0	0
A. Rolle	4-0	0.0	0	0
A. Wilson	4-1	0.0	0	0
M. Ware	3-0	0.0	0	0
C. Haggans	2-2	0.0	0	0
D. Rodgers-Cromarti	2-2	0.0	0	0
G. Watson	2-1	0.0	0	0

Total First Downs	13	Total First Downs	23
By Rushing	10	By Rushing	5
By Passing	3	By Passing	15
By Penalty		By Penalty
Third Down Efficiency	8/16 - 50%	Third Down Efficiency	4/10 - 40%
Fourth Down Efficiency	0/0 - 0%	Fourth Down Efficiency	1/2 - 50%
Total Net Yards	355	Total Net Yards	320
Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks)	60	Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks)	65
Average Gain per Offensive Play	5.9	Average Gain per Offensive Play	4.9
Net Yards Rushing	270	Net Yards Rushing	94
Total Rushing Plays	44	Total Rushing Plays	17
Average Gain per Rushing Play	6.1	Average Gain per Rushing Play	5.5
Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards)	8--16	Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards)	0-0
Net Yards Passing	85	Net Yards Passing	226
Times Sacked (Number-Yards)	1 - 5	Times Sacked (Number-Yards)	2 - 16
Gross Yards Passing	90	Gross Yards Passing	242
Pass Comp-Att-Int	7 - 15 - 0	Pass Comp-Att-Int	27 - 46 - 5
Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks)	5.3	Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks)	4.7
Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks)	7 - 6 - 3	Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks)	4 - 2 - 0
Punts (Number-Average)	6 - 47.0	Punts (Number-Average)	4 - 52.5
Blocked	0	Blocked	0
Net Punting Average	39.2	Net Punting Average	41.3
FGs Blocked - PATs Blocked	0 - 0	FGs Blocked - PATs Blocked	0 - 0
Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs)	87	Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs)	27
Punt Returns (Number-Yards)	3 - 45	Punt Returns (Number-Yards)	4 - 27
Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards)	4 - 70	Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards)	4 - 126
Interception Returns (Number-Yards)	5 - 42	Interception Returns (Number-Yards)	0 - 0
Penalties (Number-Yards)	7 - 72	Penalties (Number-Yards)	5 - 35
Fumbles (Number-Lost)	0 - 0	Fumbles (Number-Lost)	2 - 1
Touchdowns	4	Touchdowns	3
Rushing	2	Rushing	1
Passing	1	Passing	2
Interceptions	1	Interceptions	0
Kickoff Returns	0	Kickoff Returns	0
Fumble Returns	0	Fumble Returns	0
Punt Returns	0	Punt Returns	0
Extra Points (Made-Attempted)	4 - 4	Extra Points (Made-Attempted)	3 - 3
Kicking (Made-Attempted)	4 - 4	Kicking (Made-Attempted)	3 - 3
Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted)	0 - 0	Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted)	0 - 0
Field Goals (Made-Attempted)	2 - 2	Field Goals (Made-Attempted)	0 - 0
Red Zone Efficiency	2/4 - 50%	Red Zone Efficiency	3/3 - 100%
Goal To Go Efficiency	1/1 - 100%	Goal To Go Efficiency	2/2 - 100%
Safeties	0	Safeties	0
Final Score	34	Final Score	21
Time of Possession	32:58	Time of Possession	27:02

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter
	TD	J.Stewart 6 yd. run (J.Kasay kick) (15-74, 7:38) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
	TD	L.Stephens-Howling 14 yd. pass from K.Warner (N.Rackers kick) (11-81, 6:35) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
2nd Quarter
	TD	J.Stewart 10 yd. run (J.Kasay kick) (3-87, 0:54) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
	TD	S.Smith 50 yd. pass from J.Delhomme (J.Kasay kick) (4-75, 2:02) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
	TD	J.Peppers 13 yd. interception return (J.Kasay kick) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
3rd Quarter
	TD	B.Patrick 1 yd. pass from K.Warner (N.Rackers kick) (11-67, 6:21) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
4th Quarter
	FG	J.Kasay 35 yd. Field Goal (4-3, 2:14) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
	TD	T.Hightower 1 yd. run (N.Rackers kick) (5-49, 1:56) WATCH HIGHLIGHT
	FG	J.Kasay 31 yd. Field Goal (7-18, 4:22) WATCH HIGHLIGHT