The Cardiac Cats (Madden NFL 2004)

[superjames1992]

Panthers End Five-Game Skip With 27-10 Win at New Orleans


Carolina Panthers (2-5) vs. New Orleans Saints (3-5)

NEW ORLEANS, LA - The Carolina Panthers (2-5) stopped a five-game skid, outscoring the New Orleans Saints 13-0 in the fourth quarter to pull away and win 27-10.

The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a tight 14-13 advantage over the Saints (3-5), but they took control in the final 15 minutes. Early in the quarter, Jake Delhomme hit Steve Smith on a screen pass and Smith took it into the end zone from three yards out to put Carolina up 21-10.

Smith had a nice game with seven receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers.

John Kasay added another field goal later in the quarter to push the Panthers' lead to two touchdowns, 24-10, and hit a second field goal in the final minute to extend the Panthers' final margin to three scores.

The Carolina defense was dominant, holding the Saints to just 116 yards of total offense, including just 39 yards passing. Carolina's offense, in contrast, totaled 379 yards. Carolina had 23 first downs compared to New Orleans' five. The only blemish today for Carolina was in turnovers, where they turned the football over three times while only forcing two New Orleans takeaways.

Jake Delhomme threw for 239 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Stephen Davis missed out on rushing for 100 yards for the third straight game, but the veteran tailback wasn't far off as he rushed for 92 yards.

Terry Cousin made a big impact for Carolina on defense. Cousin intercepted New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks twice, including one he returned for a touchdown in the first quarter for the Panthers' first score of the day. Cousin's pick-six was Carolina's first defensive or special teams touchdown of the season.

Brooks struggled mightily for New Orleans. After torching Carolina in New Orleans' big 37-6 win earlier this season in Charlotte, he passed for just 43 yards today, with two interceptions.

Carolina has an opportunity to build on this momentum against the struggling Houston Texans next week on the road.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints
Oct 26, 2003	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carolina Panthers (2-5)	7	7	0	13	27
New Orleans Saints (3-5)	7	3	0	0	10

Team Stats Comparison
	CAR	NOR
Total Offense	379	116
Rushing Yards	152	77
Passing Yards	227	39
First Downs	23	5
Punt Return Yards	42	0
Kick Return Yards	48	101
Total Yards	469	217
Turnovers	3	2
3rd Down Conversion	7-15	1-9
4th Down Conversion	1-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-1-1	0-0-0
Penalties	1-10	0-0
Posession Time	32:03	15:57

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CAR	NOR
4:21	(NOR) D. McAllister, 32 yard run	0	7
0:28	(CAR) T. Cousin, 21 yard interception return	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CAR	NOR
9:55	(CAR) S. Hicks, 38 yard run	14	7
0:01	(NOR) J. Carney, 53 yard field goal	14	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CAR	NOR
10:53	(CAR) S. Smith, 3 yard pass from J. Delhomme	21	10
5:51	(CAR) J. Kasay, 30 yard field goal	24	10
0:16	(CAR) J. Kasay, 42 yard field goal	27	10

Carolina Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jake Delhomme 19/36 239 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stephen Davis 29 92 3.2 0 Skip Hicks 3 46 15.3 1 Jake Delhomme 2 10 5.0 0 Brad Hoover 2 2 1.0 0 DeShaun Foster 1 2 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Steve Smith 7 84 12.0 1 Ricky Proehl 4 50 12.5 0 Kris Mangum 3 45 15.0 0 Muhsin Muhammad 3 40 13.3 0 Stephen Davis 1 10 10.0 0 Walter Young 1 10 10.0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Kasay 2/2 3/3 9 42 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Todd Sauerbrun 4 142 35.5 2

New Orleans Saints PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Aaron Brooks 7/17 43 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Deuce McAllister 20 62 3.1 1 Aaron Brooks 2 15 7.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Donte Stallworth 2 22 11.0 0 Ernie Conwell 2 10 5.0 0 Michael Lewis 1 6 6.0 0 Jerome Pathon 1 4 4.0 0 Deuce McAllister 1 1 1.0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Carney 1/1 1/1 4 53 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Mitch Berger 8 372 46.5 0

[superjames1992]

Four Turnovers Doom Carolina as Texans Win After Trailing by 10 Points in the Fourth Quarter


Carolina Panthers (2-6) vs. Houston Texans (3-5)

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Texans (3-5) came from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to steal a game at home against the Carolina Panthers (2-6), handing the Panthers their sixth loss in seven games.

Carolina led 20-10 in the fourth quarter before melting down late. After John Kasay kicked a field goal with 7:56 to push Carolina's lead to 20-10, Avion Black returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, cutting Carolina's lead to 20-17.

Black's return was far from the only special teams score in this game. Steve Smith had returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to put Carolina up 17-10. Additionally, in the first quarter, Houston fullback Moran Norris returned a fumbled kickoff return by Smith for a touchdown that put Houston up 10-7 at the time.

Later in the fourth quarter, after Jake Delhomme tossed his third interception of the game, Texans reserve tailback Jonathan Wells ran in for a 14-yard rushing touchdown that gave Houston their first lead of the second half, 24-20.

The Panthers went four-and-out on their next drive, and Houston tacked on a field goal, pushing their lead to 27-10.

Jake Delhomme finally got his play together on Carolina's next, and final, drive of the game, leading the Panthers down the field with time winding down. The Panthers got the football inside the Houston 10-yard line with 31 seconds remaining, but Delhomme was sacked on second-and-goal, and the Panthers were forced to scramble to the line to set up a third-and-goal play from the 14-yard line with the clock nearly expired. Delhomme got the play off, and threw up a pass to Steve Smith, who was heavily covered. Miraculously, Smith came down with the football at the Houston two-yard line, but the speedy wide receiver wasn't able to punch it through the Houston bodies and he fell less than a yard short of paydirt.

Carolina lost 27-20. With just another yard on their last play, the game would've went to overtime, pending the extra point.

Carolina dominated the game in most categories. The Panthers outgained Houston 325-148. They outpassed Houston 233-99, and outran Houston 92-49.

But one statistical category ruled the roost: turnovers. The Panthers turned the football over four times. Houston didn't turn it over at all.

Houston also scored two touchdowns on special teams, once from a fumble return on a kickoff, and another on a kickoff return for a touchdown.

"Defensively, we played really, really well," said Carolina head coach John Fox. "Don't let the 27 points scored fool you; this loss was on everyone except the defense."

Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme's three interceptions now gives him 12 interceptions on the season against just nine touchdowns in eight games. There have been rumblings from the fans about replacing him with veteran Rodney Peete, who Delhomme beat for the job in the preseason, but Fox has been adamant that Delhomme is the starter. "If that changes, I'll let you know, but Jake [Delhomme] is our starting quarterback; period," said Fox.

Unfortunately for the Carolina Panthers, their next game is against Tampa Bay, who lead the NFC South. Carolina lost to the Buccaneers earlier this season on the road 22-7 and were unable to generate much offense in that one.

Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans
Nov 2, 2003	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Carolina Panthers (2-6)	7	3	7	3	20
Houston Texans (3-5)	10	0	0	17	27

Team Stats Comparison
	CAR	HOU
Total Offense	325	148
Rushing Yards	92	49
Passing Yards	233	99
First Downs	17	7
Punt Return Yards	123	0
Kick Return Yards	125	147
Total Yards	573	295
Turnovers	4	0
3rd Down Conversion	6-17	1-13
4th Down Conversion	2-5	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-1-2	1-1-0
Penalties	5-35	4-25
Posession Time	26:12	21:48

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CAR	HOU
6:06	(CAR) S. Smith, 5 yard pass from J. Delhomme	7	0
0:22	(HOU) K. Brown, 50 yard field goal	7	3
0:13	(HOU) M. Norris, 18 yard fumble return	7	10
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CAR	HOU
0:00	(CAR) J. Kasay, 33 yard field goal	10	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CAR	HOU
4:35	(CAR) S. Smith, 57 yard punt return	17	10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CAR	HOU
7:56	(CAR) J. Kasay, 34 yard field goal	20	10
7:43	(HOU) A. Black, 99 yard kickoff return	20	17
2:32	(HOU) J. Wells, 14 yard run	20	24
1:47	(HOU) K. Brown, 46 yard field goal	20	27

Carolina Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jake Delhomme 25/51 250 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stephen Davis 19 62 3.3 0 Jake Delhomme 5 30 6.0 0 Skip Hicks 2 0 0.0 0 Brad Hoover 2 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Stephen Davis 7 68 9.7 0 Kris Mangum 5 44 8.8 0 Steve Smith 5 33 6.6 1 Muhsin Muhammad 3 51 17.0 0 Ricky Proehl 2 24 12.0 0 Brad Hoover 1 11 11.0 0 Karl Hankton 1 11 11.0 0 Walter Young 1 8 8.0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG John Kasay 2/2 2/2 8 34 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Todd Sauerbrun 4 168 42.0 1

Houston Texans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT David Carr 18/29 111 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Stacey Mack 15 27 1.8 0 James Allen 3 8 2.7 0 Jonathan Wells 1 14 14.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Corey Bradford 4 40 10.0 0 Stacey Mack 4 12 3.0 0 Jarrod Baxter 4 9 2.2 0 Billy Miller 2 6 3.0 0 JaJuan Dawson 1 26 26.0 0 Andre Johnson 1 7 7.0 0 James Allen 1 7 7.0 0 Jabar Gaffney 1 4 4.0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Kris Brown 2/2 3/3 9 50 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Chad Stanley 10 390 39.0 1

[superjames1992]

NFL STANDINGS - AS OF WEEK 9, 2003

NFL Standings - Updated: Nov 4, 2003
NFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Washington Redskins	5	3	0	187	161
Dallas Cowboys	4	4	0	142	153
Philadelphia Eagles	3	5	0	149	187
New York Giants	2	6	0	137	139
NFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Green Bay Packers	4	3	1	213	179
Detroit Lions	3	5	0	124	177
Chicago Bears	3	5	0	147	176
Minnesota Vikings	2	6	0	110	189
NFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7	1	0	188	119
Atlanta Falcons	5	3	0	160	148
New Orleans Saints	3	6	0	204	207
Carolina Panthers	2	6	0	142	187
NFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
St. Louis Rams	6	2	0	214	135
San Francisco 49ers	5	4	0	199	147
Seattle Seahawks	4	4	0	195	177
Arizona Cardinals	2	5	1	146	199
AFC EAST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Miami Dolphins	6	2	0	142	149
New York Jets	5	3	0	152	127
New England Patriots	5	4	0	184	161
Buffalo Bills	3	5	0	153	179
AFC NORTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	2	0	206	152
Baltimore Ravens	4	4	0	156	143
Cincinnati Bengals	3	5	0	171	111
Cleveland Browns	1	7	0	102	240
AFC SOUTH	W	L	T	PF	PA
Indianapolis Colts	5	3	0	209	158
Jacksonville Jaguars	4	4	0	191	160
Tennessee Titans	4	4	0	165	197
Houston Texans	3	5	0	162	202
AFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Oakland Raiders	8	0	0	238	102
Kansas City Chiefs	5	3	0	165	157
Denver Broncos	5	4	0	157	152
San Diego Chargers	2	6	0	132	212

[superjames1992]

CAROLINA PANTHERS INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS - AS OF WEEK 9, 2003

Carolina Panthers Stats - 2003
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Jake Delhomme	163/304	1687	5.5	210.8	83	9	12	63.3
Rodney Peete	1/1	9	9.0	9.0	9	1	0	143.8
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Stephen Davis	184	622	3.3	23	3	3	77.7	1
Jake Delhomme	18	130	7.2	18	0	0	16.2	2
Skip Hicks	18	73	4.0	38	1	1	9.1	1
DeShaun Foster	2	6	3.0	4	0	0	2.0	0
Brad Hoover	8	3	0.3	2	0	0	0.3	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Drops	YDS/G	YAC
Muhsin Muhammad	28	403	14.3	3	46	7	50.3	94
Kris Mangum	27	300	11.1	0	25	6	37.5	99
Steve Smith	23	286	12.4	3	83	5	36.7	113
Ricky Proehl	26	282	10.8	2	18	8	35.2	64
Stephen Davis	32	136	4.2	2	26	5	17.0	205
Walter Young	8	99	12.3	0	20	4	16.5	26
Karl Hankton	6	64	10.6	0	13	0	12.8	10
Skip Hicks	3	55	18.3	0	36	0	6.8	31
Keith Heinrich	5	53	10.6	0	21	2	7.5	25
Brad Hoover	5	21	4.2	0	11	1	2.6	26
DeShaun Foster	1	-3	-3.0	0	0	0	-1.0	1
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
Mark Fields	58	--	58	2	17	0	1	0
Reggie Howard	42	--	42	0	2	8	1	0
Dan Morgan	38	--	35	0	5	4	0	0
Will Witherspoon	35	--	35	1	7	1	1	0
Deon Grant	30	--	30	0	2	3	3	0
Terry Cousin	27	--	27	0	2	13	3	1
Julius Peppers	23	--	23	6	4	2	0	0
Mike Minter	22	--	22	0	2	3	0	0
Kris Jenkins	19	--	19	6	2	1	0	0
Brad Franklin	17	--	17	0	0	3	0	0
Mike Rucker	11	--	11	5	2	0	0	0
Brentson Buckner	10	--	10	2	0	0	0	0
Ricky Manning	8	--	8	0	0	1	0	0
Jarrod Cooper	6	--	6	0	0	1	0	0
Brian Allen	3	--	3	0	0	0	0	0
Damien Richardson	2	--	2	0	0	2	1	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Skip Hicks	21	416	19.8	31	0	0	--	0
Steve Smith	16	301	18.8	32	0	16	13.5	1
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
John Kasay	10	14	71%	43	16	16	100%	46
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Todd Sauerbrun	33	1255	49	38.0	32.9	0	6	2

[HRNolin96]

CLASSIC Madden franchise, love to see it! Not a great start to the season, will be following along and see if the real life superstars for the team develop into superstars in the game

[LopaKa]

Awesome to see another superjames production! Love the throwback franchise, getting some serious nostalgia seeing names like TJ Duckett on my Falcons. Looking forward to all the battles within the NFC South. Also did Vick not scramble against you?