• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Panthers stun Chargers on final play

Sep 8, 2008 - 2:20 AM By James McNeal PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Jake Delhomme made a spectacular return to the field.

Delhomme's 14-yard pass to tight end Dante Rosario with no time left lifted the Carolina Panthers to a thrilling 26-24, come-from-behind win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

In his first regular-season game back since undergoing "Tommy John" surgery last year, Delhomme drove the Panthers 68 yards in 11 plays for the winning touchdown.

"The big part of the play was that Jake (Delhomme) was able to pump," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "He slid in the pocket and hard pumped and then he turned and threw one up and their guy made the play."

The Panthers began their drive at their own 32-yard line with 2:21 left in the game, after Phillip Rivers' 5-yard touchdown toss to Vincent Jackson gave the Chargers a 24-19 lead in this seesaw affair.

Delhomme, who finished 23-of-47 for 247 yards and one touchdown, was terrific in executing the two-minute offense, going 8-for-11 on the last drive.

"I felt I just needed to stay calm, I had plenty of time, and I had a time out in my pocket," Delhomme said. "I just wanted to give someone a chance to make a play and (Rosario) did."

Delhomme's last-second heroics overshadowed a great day Panthers placekicker John Kasay, who booted four field goals.

For the most part, Chargers All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson was held in check, as he was held to 97 yards and was kept out of the end zone.

"Obviously, we wanted to start strong and win the first one and it's disappointing we didn't do that," Tomlinson said. "You have to give credit to Carolina because they came in here and played a great ballgame."

Rivers was solid if not spectacular, going 17-of-27 for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the last seven minutes to help San Diego erase a 19-10 deficit.

"To start off 0-1 with our home opener makes it tough and kind of puts us in a hole right off the bat," Rivers said. "But, the important thing is to put this loss behind us and make sure this does not affect our next game."

The Chargers' last touchdown was set up on a terrific play by rookie cornerback Antoine Cason, who stripped Carolina receiver D.J. Hackett. After a mad scramble, linebacker Shaun Phillips came out the pile with the ball at the Carolina 28.

All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates had a day filled with ups and downs. On the bright side, he led all San Diego receivers with four catches for 61 yards. On the down side, he was stripped while going down at the Chargers 31 by Panthers safety Chris Harris, allowing cornerback Chris Gamble to scoop up the ball and return it for the touchdown, giving the Panthers a 16-10 third- quarter lead.

"I should have put the ball away, there is no excuse for that play, no matter how I feel," Gates said. "It was a lack of focus on my part and I apologized to my teammates for it."

The Panthers' running back tandem of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart combined for 139 yards rushing as the Panthers controlled the line of scrimmage all day.

"Our guys definitely played well," Panthers coach John Fox said. "Our offensive line, the whole blocking element, our tight ends, fullback, it was a heck of an effort by our club."

Kasey got the Panthers on the board first with a 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The Chargers answered quickly with a 44-yard pass from Rivers to Chris Chambers, who had slipped behind the Carolina secondary and ran untouched into the end zone for the score.

The Panthers took a 9-7 lead with eight seconds left in the half on Kasay's third field goal, this one a 30-yarder, with a textbook example of a two-minute offense that was a harbinger of the game's final minutes.

After only eight carries for 33 yards in the first half, Tomlinson carried six times for 32 yards and also caught a six-yard pass on a 51 yard drive that culminated with a 27-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding to give the Chargers a 10-9 third-quarter lead.

After Kasay's fourth field goal of the day, the Chargers struck back quickly, marching 80 yards in only six plays. Rivers went 5-of-5, culminating in a 24 yard-strike to Gates that cut the lead to 19-17.

The Chargers' defense had a terrific goal-line stand late in the first quarter to keep the game scoreless. After the Panthers drove from their own 12-yard line to the Chargers 1, Delhomme's pass fell incomplete on fourth down.