Jake Delhomme found Dante Rosario on a 14-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the Carolina Panthers’ 26-24 win over the San Diego Chargers.
The Panthers gave the Chargers hell all game and even when San Diego scored a go-ahead touchdown with only 2:27 left to go in the game, you got the sense Carolina was finished. With Delhomme (23 for 41, 247 yards, 1 TD), the Panthers are a completely different team offensively. It helps when DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart combine for 139 total yards on the ground, too.
Many expected the Panthers to be improved this year, but the Chargers are supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. How did San Diego allow Rosario to catch that ball? It was a remarkable play, but two defenders were there and neither could get a hand on the ball to knock it down. One game isn’t going to make or break a season, but it’s not a good sign when a team drops their home opener to a team without their best offensive weapon (Steve Smith). LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 97 yards on 22 carries, but Carolina kept him out of the end zone.
Impressive win for the Panthers. It’s hard to go into San Diego and pull off a win, but they did and this was by far the game of the day.
