Williams caught a 14-yard TD from Chad Henne in the second quarter to put Miami up 7-3, then ran in a one-yard run to make it 14-3 with :57 seconds left in the first half. Then with Miami holding to a 17-14 lead with less than four minutes left, Williams broke through a hole and went 46 yards for a clinching score to make it 24-14.

He ran hard all night, and overall the Dolphins run game put up 154 yards on 31 carries, a 5.0 yards per carry average. Henne was 17-for-29 for 172 yards with a score and a QB rating of 87.1. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme, who threw a TD to Steve Smith to make it 17-14 with 5:18 left, was 19-for-42 for 227 yards with a TD and a pick.

Delhomme was also under pressure a great deal from the Dolphins front four and their linebackers. He was sacked four times for minus 26 yards, and even on the last hail mary of the game was under pressure and just heaved the ball towards the end zone which was knocked down.

Carolina was led by a big night on the ground by DeAngelo Williams, who though being dinged was able to rush for 122 yards on just 13 carries, a 9.4 yards per carry average, which included a 50-yard run. Carolina ran for 182 yards, but were unable to get those sustained drives as they did vs Atlanta a week ago.

The Panthers fall to 4-6 on the season, and it was considered to be a must win for the club if they wanted to be a force for a wild card in the NFC. They still have games left against the 6-3 Pats, 8-1 Vikings and 9-0 Saints.

Williams missed practice Wednesday with a sore left knee. Stewart was held out a day earlier with a sore left Achilles’ tendon. Both were listed as questionable for Thursday’s game.

The Panthers were without reserve defensive end Charles Johnson (pectoral), fullback Brad Hoover (ankle) and safety Charles Godfrey (ankle).

Dolphins left guard Justin Smiley (shoulder) was active, but he was replaced in the starting lineup by Nate Garner. Reserve safety Tyrone Culver was active despite being questionable with an ankle injury.

Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano (hip) missed his second straight game.

While the Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 28-19 on Sunday, they paid a heavy price for the victory as their Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jordan Gross will more than likely be lost for the rest of the regular season with a broken right ankle, which took place during the Falcons-Panthers game.

Coincidentally, it is the second time that Gross has been injured against the Falcons while playing a game at Bank of America Stadium.With the team hitting a critical juncture of the season at 4-5, they will need to decide to either peruse the free agent wire for whatever available talent at OT or simply start reserve Garry Williams in Gross’ spot. This is critical as whoever eventually replaces Gross will be protecting quarterback Jake Delhomme’s blind side.

As has been Jake Delhomme’s tendency this season, he has been prone to turning the ball over. During Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, the embattled quarterback, for at least one week, seemed to have things under control as he utuilized the no-huddle offense to great effect as Carolina defeated Atlanta 28-19 at Bank of America Stadium.

The first quarter would be the beginning of the no-huddle for Carolina as Delhomme worked it to perfection, capped by 1-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart with 6:15 left in the first quarter, giving the Panthers a 7-3 lead, a lead they would take into the second period. Nearly two and one-half minutes into the second quarter, Delhomme increased the Panthers’ advantage to 14-3 on a 4-yard TD pass to Steve Smith. Atlanta would come back as Jeff Snelling would rush in from a yard out, reducing Carolina’s lead to 14-10. Delhomme and the no-huddle offense struck again as he connected with Smith again on a 4-yard TD pass with 1:08 left in the half, boosting the Panthers’ lead to 21-10 going into halftime.

The third quarter was devoid of offense as the only scoring that took place was a 24-yard field goal by Jason Elam with 9:21 remaining in the period, pulling Atlanta to within 21-13; Matt Ryan would get the Falcons on the scoreboard on a 3-yard pass to Justin Peelle, narrowing the Panthers’ edge to two at 21-19. But Stewart would ice the game for the Panthers on a 45-yard run just before the two-minute warning, putting Carolina up 28-19.

Delhomme had arguably his best effort of the season, going 15-of-24 for 195 yards with 2 TD’s while Matt Ryan went 22-of-41 for 224 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions. DeAngelo Williams led the Panthers’ rushing attack with 92 yards on 19 carries while Stewart added 82 yards and 2 TD’s; Michael Turner led Atlanta with 111 yards on only 9 carries while Snelling added 61 yards and a score.

Muhsin Muhammed led all Panthers receiving with 6 receptions for 91 yards while Smith caught 4 passes for 34 yards and 2 TD’s; Roddy White led Atlanta with 7 receptions for 98 yards while Tony Gonzalez caught 6 passes for 67 yards. Carolina (4-5) looks to reach the .500 mark when they get the short week as they host the Miami Dolphins Thursday while Atlanta (5-4) visits New York City to take on the Giants next Sunday.

Below is the injury report for the Carolina Panthers as they face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday:

• Running back DeAngelo Williams didn’t practice on Friday due to an knee injury and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s tilt against Atlanta. He did, however, practice on a limited basis on Thursday and didn’t practice at all Wednesday; according to David Scott of The Charlotte Observer, Williams seemed to walk without a limp.
• Both defensive end Julius Peppers (hand) and kicker John Kasay (groin) practiced and are listed as probable.
• Safety Charles Godfrey (ankle) and fullback Brad Hoover (ankle) didn’t practice Friday and look doubtful for Sunday.
• Other Panthers who practiced Friday, but are listed as questionable:  Fullback Tony Fiammetta (concussion), receiver Muhsin Muhammad (knee), tight end Dante Rosario (knee) and running back Jonathan Stewart (Achilles).

A serious injury was immediately feared, and it derails the speedy Davis’ most successful season in another blow for injury-plagued Carolina (3-5).

“He’s played very well. I feel bad for the young man because he’s put a lot into it,” coach John Fox said before the team revealed the extent of the injury. “He was playing at a high level. It’s unfortunate, and I feel bad for him and his family.”

Davis, a 2005 first-round pick from Georgia in his fourth season with the Panthers, ranks second on the team behind fellow linebacker Jon Beason with 69 tackles. He also had two sacks and an interception and his teammates had begun talking about him as a Pro Bowl selection.

Turnovers killed the Panthers, as they fumbled five times, losing three of them. Two came in the fourth quarter as they were trying to go ahead or rally.

Carolina scored 14 points in the first 8 minutes and 7 seconds, but then the Saints defense finally started shutting the door on DeAngelo Wiliams and the Panthers run game, and the game shifted. Williams outran the Siants for a 66-yard score one minute in the game, then after a turnover gave Carolina the ball deep in Saints territory, they scored again on Williams 7-yard run to make it 14-0.

The Saints, like two weeks ago vs the Dolphins on the road, rallied. John Carney kicked two second quarter field goals in between one Panthers field goal to make it 17-6. The Saints got right back in it early in the third quarter when after a 63-yard catch and run by Devery Henderson, Pierre Thomas went over from 10 yards out to make it 17-13.

After another Panthers field goal made it 20-13, things got back to even as Brees hit Robert Meachem with a 54-yard score. On their next possession, the Saints started at their 2 and drove 76 yards in 13 plays to go ahead 23-20 on John Carney’s 40-yard field goal with 4:36 left.

Will Smith, who had two sacks, stripped Panthers QB Jake Delhomme on fourth down, and Hargrove recovered to end Carolina’s next series. Four plays later, Saints rookie Malcolm Jenkins dove to stop Thomas Morstead’s punt from going into the end zone, setting up a fumble recovery by Hargrove of Williams, where he took it a yard for a score to end the scoring at 30-20.

“It’s kind of rough to lose this one,” Williams said. “This one right here was a tough one, especially in the manner in how we lost. The defense got us the ball back (with 2:17 left in the game) and I commit a turnover. That’s how games are won and lost and whoever plays throughout the fourth quarter and whoever makes the least amount of mistakes. I think they made their plays when it counted and we didn’t.”

Brees went 24-for-35 for 330 yards with a TD and a pick. Meachem had five grabs for 98 yards. The Saints outscored the Panthers 24-3 in the second half, the difference in the game.

“It’s real frustrating to give up those big plays,” cornerback Chris Gamble said. “They made more big plays than we did. All we can do is bounce back and get ready for Atlanta. I felt like we played a great game but we gave them all we could.”