Lions at Panthers
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TICKETS: Lions | Panthers
TV: FOX
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Jake Delhomme's passing numbers aren't spectacular, but the veteran quarterback has been mostly solid in leading the Carolina Panthers to the top of the NFC South. His last game, however, was an unexpected departure.
After escaping with a win despite a miserable performance from Delhomme last week, the Panthers hope to take advantage of the winless Detroit Lions and their weak defense as they go for their fourth straight victory - and sixth straight at home - on Sunday.
Delhomme started last season strong, completing 64.0 percent of his passes for 624 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception in three games before suffering a season-ending elbow injury.
His return from reconstructive surgery was a definitive success in this season's first eight games. His statistics weren't eye-popping, but he was effective in passing for 1,781 yards, nine touchdowns and only five interceptions while engineering three comeback wins during the Panthers' 6-2 start.
Considering how comfortable Delhomme looked in the first half of the season, it was a surprise last Sunday when he completed only seven of his 27 passes for 72 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in a 17-6 win against a bad Oakland defense.
It was only the second time since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 that a quarterback completed less than 30 percent of his passes and threw four interceptions in a win. In 1975, Cincinnati's Ken Anderson went 4-for-19 with four interceptions in a 14-10 victory over the Raiders.
"I'm so glad we won, because you want to talk about a long plane ride home? We just didn't get this team going," Delhomme said. "It wasn't a good day offensively, but you know you're going to have those days, and the great thing about it is we won."
DeAngelo Williams helped bail out Delhomme, running 17 times for 108 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers (7-2) won their third straight game. They haven't won four in a row since Sept. 24-Oct. 15, 2006.
"I don't think there's anything ugly about a 17-6 win," insisted coach John Fox, whose team has won its first five home games for the first time since it went 8-0 there in 1996. "Would I have liked our offense to have played better? Yes, but I thought we ran the ball very effectively. I think DeAngelo Williams had probably one of his best games here as a Panther."
Delhomme also got some help from the defense, which held the Raiders to 259 total yards and forced three turnovers in the Panthers' first game since they allowed a season-high 425 yards in a 27-23 win over Arizona Oct. 26. Delhomme threw for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help Carolina overcome a 17-3 deficit in that game.
"Jake knows he didn't have a good day (against Oakland)," said defensive end Julius Peppers, who had three sacks last Sunday. "He's a veteran. We all have bad games. We thanked him last (game) for bailing us out against Arizona. We couldn't stop nobody last (game), and they bailed us out."
Delhomme has a good chance of bouncing back with the Lions (0-9) coming to town. Detroit is giving up 406.1 total yards per game, including 244.9 in the air - the second- and fourth-worst marks in the NFL, respectively.
The Lions have lost their first nine games by an average of 14.0 points for their longest season-opening skid since they started 0-12 in 2001. Though they had shown signs of improvement by losing their previous four games by an average of 5.3 points, the Lions were blown out 38-14 by Jacksonville last Sunday.
"I feel sick in my stomach," said rookie running back Kevin Smith, who rushed for a season-high 96 yards.
Daunte Culpepper made his Lions debut last week, going 5-for-10 for 104 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The 31-year-old Culpepper, who came out of retirement to sign a two-year deal last Tuesday, had 11 lackluster appearances in the previous two seasons for Oakland and Miami after a knee injury stunted his career in Minnesota.
"It was definitely not the outcome I wanted. We didn't win," Culpepper told the Lions' official Web site. "That's the main goal, winning. I think we have some things we can build on and I think as far as me personally, I made some mistakes, but I had some good things happen. It's a working process."
Detroit has lost three straight against Carolina since taking the clubs' first meeting in 1999. Culpepper has also lost three in a row against the Panthers, totaling two TDs and seven interceptions in those games.
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