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| Jake Delhomme(17) celebrates after throwing the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl with 16 seconds left. |
When any NFL season begins, the fanbases of all 32 teams have high hopes for their favorite team and some dream that maybe that their team will reach the Super Bowl.
However, they do not expect an omen or a turning point in their season on opening day, but that was the case for the 2003 Carolina Panthers.
Still, Brunell would get the start as the Jaguars traveled to Carolina to face the Panthers on the first Sunday of the 2003 season.
Carolina entered the season with hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1996 as they were coming off a 7-9 season, a major improvement over their 1-15 season in 2001.
The Panthers were under the control of second-year head coach John Fox, the former defensive coordinator for the New York Giants during their Super Bowl run in 2000.
Fox helped turned around the defense as they went from next-to-last in 2001 to second best in 2002, but in order for Carolina to take the next step, the offense needed to improve as it ranked 31st in 2001.
So in the offseason, the Panthers signed running back Stephen Davis from the Redskins, wide receiver Ricky Proehl from the St. Louis Rams, and quarterback Jake Delhomme, who had been serving as a backup for the New Orleans Saints.
Delhomme hoped to win the starting job from incumbent Rodney Peete, but Fox named Peete the starter for the season opener.
While the Panthers were looking toward the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars were looking at rebuilding their franchise after firing the only head coach the team ever had, Tom Coughlin, in the offseason after three straight losing seasons.
He was replaced by Jack Del Rio, who ironically had been the Panthers’ defensive coordinator the year before.
Another sign of the rebuilding movement was the drafting of quarterback Byron Leftwich in the first round of the draft, meaning that Mark Brunell, who had been with the team since its inception in 1995, days were numbered in Jacksonville.
The Panthers got the ball first and on the first play, Davis sprinted for 20 yards on a 1st down. That would be the only 1st down Carolina would have the entire 1st half as the Panthers gained only 36 yards during the 1st 30 minutes.
Jacksonville did not fare much better in the opening quarter as they gained only one 1st down and 38 yards on their first 4 possessions of the game.
However in the 2nd quarter, the Jacksonville offense finally got going as Brunell hit JJ Stokes for a 22-yard pass play which was followed by a 15-yard face mask penalty on Carolina defensive end Al Wallace putting the Jaguars at the Panthers’ 42-yard-line.
Back-to-back completions to tight end Kyle Brady for a combined 26 yards help led to fullback Marc Edwards punching it in from the two-yard-line to complete a 10-play, 80-yard drive and give the Jaguars a 7-0 lead with 4:52 to play in the first half.The Jaguars went three-and-out on their next drive, but got the ball back at their own 47-yard-line with 26 seconds left and a chance to add more points.
After completing three passes for a total of 25 yards, Brunell and the Jaguars had 3rd-and-8 at the Carolina 33-yard-line with eight seconds left.
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| Mark Brunell(8) would complete 23 of 27 passes, including 13 in a row in the 24-23 loss. |
Figuring he was in field goal range, Brunell took a shot toward the end zone and when he found Matthew Hatchette in the end zone, the sixth-year wide receiver made a stunning 33-yard touchdown catch as time expired to give Jacksonville a 14-0 halftime lead.
The Jaguars kept the momentum from their last second touchdown into their opening drive of the 2nd half as they drove 49 yards in nine plays to set up a 40-yard field goal by Seth Marler to increase the Jacksonville lead to 17-0 midway through the third quarter.
With his team down 17 points and offense sprutting, Fox put in Delhomme as Carolina began their first drive of the 2nd half at their own 36-yard-line.
Delhomme handed it off to Davis for the first three plays which gained 24 yards before he fired his first pass of the game intended for Steve Smith, which was incomplete, but drew a 27-yard pass interference penalty on the Jaguars’ Jason Craft giving Carolina a 1st down at the Jacksonville 13-yard-line.
On the very next play, Delhomme went to the air and connected with Mushin Muhammad for a 13-yard touchdown to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 17-7 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Panthers got the ball back at their 48-yard-line and were able to keep the momentum from the touchdown onto this drive as they drove to the Jacksonville 20 when Delhomme found Muhammad again for a 19-yard gain setting up a 1st-and-goal, only to have the play nullified by an offensive pass interference call on Muhammad pushing the Panthers back 10 yards.
The Panthers were unable to gain only more yardage on the drive but got a 48-yard field goal by John Kasay on the first play of the 4th quarter to make a one possession game as they trailed 17-10.
Despite that, the Panthers kept the momentum as the defense did not allow a 1st down on the Jaguars’ next drive setting up a 4th-and-12 from the Jacksonville 17.
That is when Rod Smart, aka “He Hate Me” from the infamous NFL, blocked the punt of Chris Hanson who proceeded to kick the loose ball into the back of the end zone for an intentional safety, thus not allowing Carolina to have the ball inside the Jaguars’ 20-yard-line.
Still, Carolina got two points to trim the deficit to 17-12 and would get the ball back after a free kick by Hanson at the Jacksonville 20.
Smith returned the free kick 38 yards to the Panthers’ 48-yard-line after three straight running plays that gained 23 yards, Carolina was at the Jacksonville 29 and poised to take their first lead of the game.
But two plays later, Delhomme was intercepted by Rashean Mathis on a deep pass intended for Smith, giving the ball back to Jacksonville at their own 7-yard-line with over 10 minutes to play.
The Panthers defense forced another three-and-out to get the ball back at their 48, when Delhomme found Kris Mangum for a 13-yard gain on the drive’s first play, then hit Smith for nine yards on a 3rd-and-6 to put Carolina at the Jaguars’ 26-yard-line.
That is when Delhomme connected with Muhmmad for an apparent 26-yard touchdown, only to have it overturned by instant replay negating the Panthers’ first lead of the game.
However, the Panthers would get the lead when Delhomme found Smith for a 24-yard touchdown that gave Carolina their first lead of the game at 18-17 with 6:10 remaining.Carolina would go for two points but failed when Delhomme’s pass for Proehl fell incomplete.
However, the Panthers’ lead would last only 56 seconds as Brunell hit Jermaine Lewis for a 65-yard touchdown that put Jacksonville back on top 23-18(the Jaguars failed on their two-point attempt).
On the Panthers ensuing possession, Delhomme was picked off by linebacker Akin Ayodele who returned it to the Jacksonville 47-yard-line with a chance to ice the game with 4:43 to play.
But once again the Carolina defense stiffened to force a three-and-out, and after a 36-yard punt return by Smith, the Panthers had the ball at their own 46-yard-line with 3:34 left and two timeouts.
Carolina started the drive conservatively as Davis ran the ball twice for nine yards, followed by one-yard-run by Delhomme to give the Panthers a 1st down at the Jaguars’ 44.
That is when the Panthers went back to the air as Delhomme connected with Smith for a 11-yard gain, then with running back DeShaun Foster for eight more yards before calling timeout with 1:16 left.
After an incomplete pass, Davis ran for four yards on a 3rd-and-2, which was followed by a 10-yard pass from Delhomme to Magnum giving Carolina a 1st-and-10 at the Jaguars’ 11.
But that is when disaster nearly struck as Delhomme was sacked on 1st down by Tony Brackens, forcing a fumble which was recovered by Carolina tackle Todd Steussie, keeping the ball with the Panthers and preserving their chance to win the game.
Then, Delhomme connected with Nick Goings for four yards, who stepped out of bounds at the seven-yard-line with 25 seconds left.
But after a false start on Muhammad and an incomplete pass, Carolina was faced with a 4th-and 11 at the Jaguars 12.
Ricky Proehl makes the game-winning touchdown catch to complete the Panthers' comeback from a 17-point deficit.
With the Jaguars oncoming pass rush in his face, Delhomme lofted a pass toward the left corner of the end zone that was caught by Proehl, giving Carolina a 24-23 lead with just 16 seconds to go.
The Panthers attempted another two-point conversion but once again failed, giving the Jaguars a glimmer of hope that they could still win the game.
That glimmer of hope grew with a 25-yard kick return by LaBrandon Toefield to the Jacksonville 37-yard-line and back-to-back completions by Brunell for 26 yards to give Marler a chance to win the game with a 55-yard-field goal with one second left.
But the Jaguars’ chances of pulling out a miracle were dashed when safety Mike Minter blocked the field goal to preserve the Panthers’ 24-23 victory.
The loss helped accelerate the Jaguars’ rebuilding movement as Brunell was benched in the third game of the season by Leftwich, who would remain the Jacksonville quarterback for the rest of the season as they finished with a 5-11 record.
But Jacksonville would finish with a 9-7 record the following season and would make the playoffs in 2005 and 2007.
As for the Panthers, Delhomme took over the starting quarterback job and helped lead Carolina to a 11-5 record and a NFC South division title to send the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
The opening day comeback win was the first of many heartstopping victories for the Panthers as they tied the NFL record of winning games by three points of less(7) and playing in five road overtime games with a 4-1 record, including a 29-23 double overtime win over the St. Louis Rams in the divisional playoffs.
Carolina would then go on to shock the Philadelphia Eagles 14-3 in the NFC Championship Game to advance to their first Super Bowl where they lost to the New England Patriots 32-29 on Adam Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal with four seconds to play.
Still, the 2003 Carolina Panthers are rememberd very fondly in the Carolinas for thier numberous nail-biting victories that are forever known as the "Cardiac Cats."
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