It is usually a general rule that if your team plays mistake-free football, then your team normally wins. In Sunday’s game pitting the visiting Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, the Panthers did what they have not done all season – play turnover-free football. And Jake Delhomme wasn’t a major factor, either.

Actually, the running attack, along with some timely defense made things easy for Delhomme and Co. as Carolina easily handled Arizona 34-21 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner didn’t exactly have a stellar day as he was harrassed by Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers; he simply didn’t have the protection to be successful as he turned the ball over 6 times – one on a fumble and 5 via interception.

The first quarter was played evenly enough as both teams scored a tocuhdown – Carolina on a 6-yard touchdown run while Arizona got on the board via a 14-yard pass from Warner to Larod Stephens-Howling, evening things up at 7-all going nito the second quarter.

The second period was all Panthers as Stewart would score again on a 13-yard dash into the end zone, along with a 50-yard Delhomme-to-Steve Smith TD pass and an interception by Peppers, which was taken back 13 yards for a score. When the carnage ended, the Panthers were up 28-7 with 7:28 remaining in the first half; that score would stand as both teams went into halftime.

Arizona would strike back on a 1-yard Warner-to-Ben Patrick TD pass, narrowing their deficit to 28-14; however, two field goals by Panthers kicker John Kasay – one from 35 yards and one from 31 yards – would ensure the victory for Carolina.

Delhomme, as previously stated, didn’t factor much into the decision as he went 7-of-14 for 90 yards and a TD; on a related note, he left the game with a chest injury after the TD pass. Warner had arguably his worst game this season, going 27-of-46 for 242 yards with 2 TD’s but 5 interceptions. DeAngelo Williams and Stewart combined for 245 rushing yards – 158 for Williams and 87 plus two scores for Stewart; Beanie Wells led all Arizona rushers with 47 yards while Tim Hightower added 39 rushing yards and caught 8 passes for 57 yards.

Steve Smith led all Carolina receivers with 56 yards on 3 receptions; Larry Fitzgerald led Arizona with 6 receptions for 66 yards while Steve Breaston caught 6 passes for 57 yards. Carolina (3-4) plays again next Sunday when they travel to The Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Saints while Arizona (4-3) jets to Chicago to face the Bears – also on Sunday.

Julius Peppers doesn’t say much and he’ll never be misconstrued as a rah-rah type of guy. So when he does talk, people listen. Such was the case before Carolina’s game against Tampa Bay on Oct. 18. According to teammates, the normally quite and somewhat recluse Peppers stepped out of character and stood up before all of his teammates and delivered an inspiring speech, challenging everyone on the roster to look in the mirror and really see what they’re made of. “That was on of the better talks that I’ve heard on a player talk day since I’ve been here,” said linebacker Na’il Diggs. “It was like, ‘Wow.’ Especially coming from Pep.”

“If he would have went that way, how could I blame him? I mean, let’s be real here, how could I blame him?” Delhomme said. “But I was hoping it would be me. I’m going down swinging. I don’t know any other way to put it.”

Delhomme has been downright bad, committing 15 turnovers while throwing only four touchdown passes in the teams 2-4 start. He had three more picks Sunday, leading to 14 points in Buffalo’s 20-9 win at Bank of America Stadium.

His latest performance led Fox to waver on Delhomme for the first time since he replaced Rodney Peete as Carolina’s starter early in the 2003 season. But Fox is sticking with Delhomme ahead of backups Matt Moore and A.J. Feeley.

“The 48-hour rule, you go back and you look and there’s no question that we’ve struggled in that area,” Fox said. “Going through and looking at some our mishaps, I don’t think it’s one guy. I still think he gives us the best chance to win.”

Hopes of winning the South this year are gone with the Saints running away with the division, and now John Fox has to face facts in replacing Delhomme in the starting lineup. The Charlotte Observer today reports that the decision to replace Delhomme finally seems to be near:

Admitting his team’s confidence in its passing game is in dire need of a boost, Carolina Panthers coach John Fox said Monday he’s considering replacing Jake Delhomme as the team’s starting quarterback. Less than a month after expressing his support of Delhomme’s status as the starter with a “capital Y” for yes, Fox is on the verge of changing that to a billboard-sized N-O. “The reality is we’re not operating very well there, and I don’t know if status quo is necessarily the answer or not,” said Fox. “We definitely need to do whatever it takes to get better. If that entails a quarterback change, that’s what it’ll entail.”

Delhomme has thrown four TD’s this year but 13 interceptions, which has killed the team. Bottom line, it’s time to see what someone other than Delhomme can do when given the chance under center.

It may be time for the Panthers to finally admit that changes have to be made. Sunday the focus was once again on QB Jake Delhomme, who added to his league-leading interception total, throwing three interceptions. It was tough to see as the Panthers dominated the Bills in the stats department, outgainig them 425 to 167, but the three picks were too much to overcome.

“I’m not a dummy,” Delhomme said. “When you’re not playing well offensively, you always have to look at the quarterback. I don’t think there’s any doubt. I’m certainly not looking to give it up by any stretch of the imagination, but let’s be real here. Two big turnovers today really affected us.”

Two of the picks led directly to Bills touchdowns. Delhomme’s first pick came on the Panthers third possession when he overthrew tight end Gary Barnidge and Bills safety Jairus Byrd returned the ball 37 yards to the Panthers 7-yard line. Two plays later, Marshawn Lynch, scored on a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0.

The Panthers got two points back when Hollis Thomas tackled Fred Jackson in the end zone to make it a 7-2 game. But chances were missed by the Panthers, as after two missed field goals by John Kasay from 43 and 39 yards, the Bills got another TD in the third quarter after Delhomme’s pass tipped off the hands of Steve Smith and into the arms of Byrd, who took it 30 yards to the Panthers 27.

The Bills were able to get in the end zone as Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Lee Evans with a two-yard score to make it 14-2, and for pretty much all purposes the game was over. After a Buffalo field goal made it 17-2, the Panthers got their only TD of the day when DeAngelo Williams scored to make it 17-9 with 6:34 left in the game.

The Panthers put up a stand to get the ball back with 5:25 left, but Kenny Moore muffed a punt and the Bills recovered, ending the final real Bills chance. “I’m kind of almost numb. I don’t know,” Delhomme said. “We move the ball up and down the field. They made plays. Two overthrows. Other than that I don’t have any excuse or anything. That’s it. Disappointing.”

Now sitting at 2-4, it will be interesting to see if under the pressure to do anything, if coach John Fox makes any changes to the lineup anytime soon. Or if can get away with not.

Carolina Panthers Jake Delhomme, while much maligned, can be accused of being resourceful – if anything else. And that resourcefulness would be put to the test as the Panthers visited the Tampa Bay Bucaneers at Raymond James Stadium. And interestingly enough, Delhomme contributed little in this game as it was more of a rushing plethora as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart rushed for 262 of the team’s 267 yards as Carolina allowed head coach John Fox to coach for another week by outlasting Tampa Bay 28-21.

Passing wouldn’t really factor in to this contest as both quarterbacks – Delhomme and the Buccaneers’ Josh Johnson, combined for a total of 212 yards. The first half, like the Buccaneers sinking ship, was listless as only two scores took place – one on a 20-yard touchdown run by Tampa’s Carnell Williams and coincidentally another 20-yard run by Carolina’s Williams – which would allow both teams to slink into their respective locker rooms at halftime tied at 7.

Business would pick up markedly in the third quarter as a 1-yard Delhomme-to-Jeff King TD pass would give the Panthers a 14-7 lead; they would further pad their cushion at 21-7 on a 26-yard Stewart TD run. At the 2:17 mark of the third period, special teams would allow the Buccaneers to narrow the gap to 21-14 on a 97-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Sammie Stroughter; defense would benefit Tampa Bay as safety Tanard Jackson scored on a pick-6 with 8:33 of the fourth quarter, tying things up at 21.

But as the remaining 6:27 of the game would indicate, Delhomme would lead the Panthers on a drive which would be capped by a game-winning 1-yard run by Williams with only 29 seconds remaining in the game.

As previously mentioned, passing was a mere afterthought for both teams as Delhomme went 9-of-17 for 65 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while Johnson went 11-of-17 for 147 yards and an INT. Williams had his first 100-game this season, rushing 30 times for 152 yards and 2 TD’s while catching 2 passes for 20 yards; Stewart added 110 yards on only 17 carries. Williams led the Biccaneers rushing attack with 16 carries for 77 yards and a score while Johnson added 45 yards on 8 carries.

Muhsin Muhammad led all Panthers receivers with 3 receptions for 27 yards while Stroughter led the Bucs’ receivers with 3 receptions for 65 yards. Carolina (2-3)makes the short trip home to host the Buffalo Bills next Sunday while Tampa Bay (0-6) has their work cut out for them as they remain home to host the New England Patriots – also next Sunday.