Panthers Upset Rams in Double OT!

[Dave2112]

What an amazing game this one was! It was probably the best playoff game I've seen since the Music City Miracle in Tennessee a few years back.

With Carolina leading 23-12 with a little over two minutes left, I started getting this feeling like I had when the Rams were down to the Pats in the Super Bowl...they're gonna come back. Sure as shit, they hit a quickie TD and get the two-point conversion. Then, they try an onside kick and the damn kicker winds up getting it. Which of course leads to the tying field goal.

The Panthers almost win it on the first possesion of overtime, hitting a 40-yard field goal, only to have it called back on a delay-of-game penalty. From 45 yards, Kasay (the last original Panther) misses. What a slug-fest through an entire overtime period...both kickers miss another shot at winning, both defenses do just enough to keep the other guys out and everyone's exhausted. Finally, a few minutes into the second overtime (5th in NFL history), Delhomme hits Steve Smith for a 69-yard TD pass that finds Smith splitting the CB and FS to streak into the end-zone.

In my opinion, the Panthers pulled off one of the strongest upsets in recent memory. The crowd noise was unreal and had a big impact on several key plays throughout the game. DeShaun Foster had a great day rushing after Stephan Davis went down and everyone thought it was over. Now, if Green Bay upsets Philly, the Panthers will get to host thier first NFC Championship game. Even if they have to go to Philly, home-field hasn't meant much to the Eagles in recent playoff games, and the Panthers faced a much bigger obstacle in the Rams. Carolina seems like the proverbial "team of destiny" this year, and I'm finally sold on the toughness and drive that this young team has shown. They can win the big ones, and if they play half as good next week...they should see thier first Super Bowl.

 

[Mimi]

That was one of the most freaking awesome games I have ever seen. I was on the verge of cardiac arrest from the moment the Rams captured that onside kick, all the way until the final score seconds into double overtime. Everytime you thought "well, this will do it for this game", suddenly NO! No score! It's been quite some time since I got THAT excited (bouncing on the couch, hollaring, throwing things excited) during a football game....much less two teams, who while I enjoy them, do not have any emotional ties to (like I do with the Packers).

I was rooting for Carolina from the start, but I'm ashamed to say I was not that confident in their abilities to pull off a victory in St. Louis. I am extremely glad that I was proven wrong. A hard fought victory, and well deserved. Way to go Panthers!

Now if only the Packers can pull off a victory in Philly today. Counting down to kick off....

Mimi 🙂

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I'm glad...I hate the Rams anyway!
It might come down today to Brett Favre v. Donovan McNabb. If that's the case, I don't like McNabb's chances...after what I've seen from him this year, I don't have to justify this statement either.

 

[Dionysus]

Yeah that was a pretty sweet game. I was pulling for Carolina just because my dad is from North Carolina (which Carolina is this team based in again? LOL). Plus I have this irrational loathing for the Rams that I can't explain 😛

I kept thinking "Is this game ever going to end", but not in a bad way mind you. I also nearly went through an entire bag of Munchies Mix and a 12 pack of beer by the time it was all said and done 😀

 

[Neutron]

It Wasn't An Upset..

In the NFL the team with the better defense always wins in the playoffs. Carolina had a better defense.
It's sad Tennessee has to play in the AFC. In the NFC they'd be in the Superbowl. Trouble is in the AFC there's one defense that's a small notch better, and the Titans ran into them.

Tron

 

[Dave2112]

I have to agree with Tron (to a point) that defenses win championships. However, I considered it an "upset" because Carolina's defense wasn't supposed to be able to contain the many weapons of the Rams. Yes, the front seven (and especially the four guys on the line) are among the elite in football at the moment...but the secondary had been torched for quite a bit of yardage during the season. In hindsight, Carolina had the better defense, but going into the game, nobody saw that coming.

On the other hand, perhaps the secondary did what pro football players are expected to do...step it up in the playoffs. And then there's the effect of the front seven on thier own secondary. Maybe Tron will agree with me on this one (I believe you said you played defense?)...

If your front seven is completely shutting down the run and getting to the passer, creating havoc and confusion, your secondary will benefit from at least knowing what's coming. Carolina made the great Marshall Faulk almost a non-factor. Even a so-so secondary can compete with a high-powered passing game if that's the only thing getting thrown at you. Once you make a team one-dimensional and force them to pass on every down, you're going to have some defensive success. Teams did it all the time to Marino's Dolphins (pre-Ricky Williams). Carolina's front seven completely shut down the short game and batted a lot of balls down at the line. Bulger was under pressure almost two out of three downs.

The Patriots took a different approach to beating them in the Super Bowl...blanketing the receivers with dime packages right from the start. They gave them the rushing yards, but stopped the air game in its tracks. Carolina's approach was similar, but forced the Rams into the passing game, which a rested secondary was ready for. If you have to start passing every down by the fourth quarter, you'll get yardage, but you're going to get one picked off or several batted down. Also, once a team abandons the running game, you can start setting up effective zone blitzes and using your linebackers as short pass defenders.

This is why I wasn't all that surprised at Mike Martz's decision to play for the tie at the end of the game. Even with 50 some seconds and a time-out, if Bulger got picked off (which he had three times already), the game's over. I would have used the time and the one time-out to possibly try a few draw plays or maybe something safe underneath and hope your gamebreakers can make something happen rather than just running it down and taking the kick...but I can't fault Martz for the decision itself.

All in all, even though I picked Philly in the pool, I think Carolina has a real shot at the Super Bowl here.

One last thing. Even though "defenses win championships", if you have an offense like Indy has, that throws a small monkey wrench into that dogma. No, you can't always rely on 38-45 point games, and you can't allow 31 from the other team and expect to win all the time...but watching Peyton and Co. score on practically every possesion for two games says something. Defense can win you a ring, but you still have to score more points than the other team. If Indy and Carolina face each other in the Super Bowl, it will be a real contest. Dungy's scoring machine against Fox's shut-out machine. It happened in the Rams/Pats game and if form holds true, Carolina could see it's first Super Bowl title.