Boo-birds won over
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Carolina Panthers deserved the boos that chased them off the field at halftime. Even Steve Smith’s stomach was turning.
As the second half wore on, Smith was feeling better, the Panthers got it turned around – and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were feeling all the worse for it.
Jake Delhomme threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson for the go-ahead score in the third quarter and Julius Peppers had three sacks and recovered a fumble as the Panthers beat the Buccaneers 24-10 on Monday night to end a two-game losing streak.
Smith was seen repeatedly vomiting into a garbage can on the sidelines, once after a long catch early in the second half. But he stayed in the game, catching eight passes for 149 yards, including a 36-yard TD late in the fourth quarter to seal it.
“My little girl was sick,” Smith said, “and so, and she’s a daddy’s girl, kissing on me and so – I got the flu. What happens in the house just goes around the parents.”
Smith said he fought through it, because “this is how I feed my family.”
Rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski threw two interceptions and lost a fumble for the Buccaneers (2-7), who committed turnovers on four of five possessions in the second and third quarters to blow a 7-0 halftime lead and lose a third straight.
Forced to wait 15 days to play again after allowing 25 fourth-quarter points in a loss to Dallas, the Panthers managed only three first downs and 98 yards in the first half Monday.
Fans, upset with the play-calling and the Panthers’ inability to run, showed their displeasure early and saved the loudest boos as the Panthers walked off the field at halftime trailing a team missing three defensive starters to injury.
Carolina scored on four of its first six drives in the second half – but then, the Buccaneers made it easy for the Panthers to come back.
After such a long wait for the Panthers, even an ugly win keeps Carolina in the playoff hunt.
. “We really laid an egg 15 days ago against Dallas,” said Delhomme. “It’s just nice to get a win. It’s a crazy league.”
Gradkowski’s third turnover of the game, a fumble forced by Chris Draft and recovered by Peppers, gave Carolina the ball at the Tampa Bay 44.
Delhomme then found Smith for a 21-yard catch-and-run, setting up Delhomme’s 4-yard TD pass to Keyshawn Johnson. It gave Carolina it’s first lead, 10-7 midway through the third quarter.
“My two bigs, Keyshawn (Johnson) and Steve (Smith), I just try to get them the ball and they make me look good,” Delhomme said.
Peppers, going up against second-year offensive tackle Jeremy Trueblood after a season-ending injury to Kenyatta Walker, took over the NFL lead with 11 sacks.
Gradkowski, who came into the game with only one interception in 186 games – an NFL record for most attempts to start a career without two picks – struggled.