Panthers whip Rams

Unthinkable two months ago, the Carolina Panthers are officially in the playoff hunt.

Playing nearly as well as they did during their run to the Super Bowl last season, Carolina pulled into the thick of the NFC wild-card hunt with a 20-7 victory over St. Louis on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.

It was the fifth consecutive win for the Panthers and moved them into a tie for the final NFC wild-card berth – unimaginable after Carolina opened 1-7 and lost starter after starter to season-ending injuries.

Playing behind a defense that set a franchise record with six interceptions, the Panthers got touchdowns from Muhsin Muhammad and Nick Goings and two field goals from John Kasay.

St. Louis was without star running back Marshall Faulk, and was forced to use 39-year-old Chris Chandler at quarterback because Marc Bulger is hurt.

Making his first start in over a year, Chandler certainly wasn’t crisp. But the 17-year veteran still made a handful of athletic plays, including one that was negated for offensive holding but would have ranked among his niftier touchdown passes.

He escaped from the collapsing pocket, eluded several defenders and zipped a pass to Isaac Bruce, who zigzagged into the end zone for what would have been a 52-yard TD.

The one that did count was his 75-yard TD pass to Holt on third-and-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Chandler finished 16 for 29 for 243 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions.

49ers 31, Cardinals 28 (OT)

San Francisco blew a 25-point lead in Tempe, Ariz., but not the game.

Todd Peterson kicked a 31-yard field goal with 8:38 left in overtime to give the 49ers a victory over Arizona.

It was the exact same score as in the teams’ first meeting on Oct. 10, when visiting Arizona blew a 16-point lead with 5 minutes to go in regulation and lost in overtime on Peterson’s 32-yarder.

Ken Dorsey and Maurice Hicks, starting in place of injured quarterback Tim Rattay and running back Kevan Barlow, made the big plays for San Francisco – which had a 28-3 lead early in the third quarter.

San Francisco is 2-0 against Arizona this season, and 0-11 against everyone else.

With coach Dennis Erickson’s job in jeopardy, Dorsey threw for the first three touchdowns of his two-year NFL career, two of them to Cedrick Wilson. Hicks carried 34 times for 139 yards and a touchdown.

Josh McCown, back at quarterback for Arizona after being benched for three games, directed three second-half touchdown drives.