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Click here for final game stats from AOL Sports.
Stop me if you've heard this one.
The Carolina Panthers blew a 4th-quarter lead in a close, low-scoring game, letting their opponent hang around long enough to make a big play that turned the game around. The Panthers were stuck with a head-scratcher of a loss, leaving their fans frustrated and questioning the team's quarterback, the team's play-calling, and the team's heart.
Sound familiar, Panthers fans? It's become a broken record in Charlotte. Carolina had a lead in the fourth quarter in all of their last four losses, but they couldn't hold it. This time, they literally couldn't hold the 4th-quarter lead when safety Mike Minter and cornerback Chris Gamble tried to arm-tackle Redskins tight end Chris Cooley, who broke free and broke north, taking a short Jason Campbell pass 66 yards for a touchdown with 4:26 left in the game.
This play came after Carolina responded to a late-3rd-quarter touchdown from Campbell to Antwaan Randle El with a 15-play 74-yard, 7-minute drive that ended with a spectacular Steve Smith touchdown catch. That gave the Panthers a 13-10 lead, which they gave right back after Cooley got loose. Carolina got the ball back twice, but they couldn't get anything going.
This was far more than just Minter and Gamble missing a tackle, though...
During the post-game show on the Carolina Panthers radio network, fans' anger was evenly split between quarterback Jake Delhomme for his poor play -- 23 for 38, 166 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs -- and offensive coordinator Dan Henning for his poor play selection. The 3rd-and-10 draw play late in the 4th quarter had everyone baffled, and Delhomme's interception on Carolina's last possession... well, let's just say we all knew that pass was doomed as soon as he let it go.
The Panthers inability to establish a running game -- some would say unwillingness to establish a running game -- continued to be their ruin today. Rookie DeAngelo Williams filled in for the injured DeShaun Foster, who was a late scratch, but he barely got any touches in the second half. He had 10 carries for 50 yards in the first half, but only 7 carries for 13 yards in the second.
Once Dan Henning determined that Williams couldn't be Stephen Davis, either -- nice call on that one, Dan -- Carolina became one-dimensional, relying too much on Jake Delhomme, who had a tendency to throw off his back foot and overthrow wide-open receivers all afternoon. On at least one occasion, a receiver signaled Jake that he was open, and Jake never even looked his way. It was as if he was locked into a system and would not allow himself to break out of it.
Jake also attempted to force the ball to Steve Smith, who only had 5 catches for 34 yards today, when a checkdown throw to a tight end might have been better. Oh, wait, Henning doesn't like to use the tight end in his offense -- which is funny, since Kris Mangum's lone catch of the day got the Panthers a first down and then some...
The Panthers' defense did what it could, but even they got into trouble trying to stop Ladell Betts, who finished with 104 yards on 24 carries and looked remarkably solid all day. 10 of the Redskins' 14 first downs came on running plays.
What makes this game worse for Carolina is that it makes their playoff position far more tenuous. The New Orleans Saints throttled the Atlanta Falcons today, a result I would have otherwise enjoyed, and the New York Giants are dominating the Tennessee Titans as I type this. If the Giants-Titans score holds up, Carolina will tumble from a 4-seed to a 6-seed in the playoff race, and possibly out of it if the Philadelphia Eagles upset the Indianapolis Colts tonight.
With so many teams jumbled together in the NFC playoff race, the Panthers now find themselves with no room for error, and next week's Monday night battle in the Illadelph seems a lot bigger than it should have been.
All in all, it was a close, hard-fought game, but those are the games that baffle the Panthers the most. They are 2-3 in road games decided by 3 points or less, and they had fourth-quarter leads in all of them. It's bound to get people asking why Carolina suffers these constant letdowns. Maybe it's the quarterback. Maybe it's the play-calling. Maybe they just don't have enough heart. I'm baffled. You?
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