Glendale, Ariz. » Jake Delhomme left Arizona a winner, even if he had to take a trip to the hospital before he left town.
The embattled Carolina quarterback, whose downward spiral began with a playoff loss at home against Arizona last season, threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith before leaving with a chest injury in the Panthers' 34-21 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Panthers, in a turnover-free performance, rolled up 270 yards on the ground against what had been the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL.
It was the second-most yards rushing in franchise history, behind 299 against Tampa Bay last season, and a measure of revenge after Arizona beat the Panthers 33-13 at Carolina in last season's playoffs.
"There was a special interest on this game," Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams said.
Arizona's Kurt Warner was intercepted five times and fumbled the ball away once.Coincidentally, Delhomme was intercepted five times and fumbled once in that playoff loss. He had a league-worst 13 picks this season entering Sunday.
Delhomme played a series after he was hurt, then was taken to a hospital for tests. He said after returning to the stadium that nothing serious was discovered. He described the injury as a "chest contusion."
Warner completed 27 of 46 for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Two of his interceptions were tipped.
"It just seemed like every time the ball was bouncing somewhere, it went into their hands," Warner said. "It's to their credit. They were hustling."
| Carolina | 7 | 21 | 0 | 6 | -- | 34 |
| Arizona | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | -- | 21 |
First Quarter
Car » Stewart 6 run (Kasay kick), 7:22.
Ari » Stephens-Howling 14 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), :47.
Second Quarter
Car » Stewart 10 run (Kasay kick), 14:53.
Car » Smith 50 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), 7:33.
Car » Peppers 13 interception return (Kasay kick), 7:28.
Third Quarter
Ari » Patrick 1 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), 6:13.
Fourth Quarter
Car » FG Kasay 35, 11:40.
Ari » Hightower 1 run (Rackers kick), 9:44.
Car » FG Kasay 31, 2:40.
Attendance » 62,031.
Car Ari
| First downs | 13 | 23 |
| Total Net Yards | 355 | 320 |
| Rushes-yards | 44-270 | 17-94 |
| Passing | 85 | 226 |
| Punt Returns | 3-45 | 4-27 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4-70 | 4-126 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 5-42 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 7-15-0 | 27-46-5 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 1-5 | 2-16 |
| Punts | 6-47.0 | 4-52.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-72 | 5-35 |
| Time of Possession | 32:58 | 27:02 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing » Carolina, D.Williams 23-158, Stewart 17-87, Smith 1-17, Delhomme 1-7, Hoover 1-2, M.Moore 1-(minus 1). Arizona, B.Wells 8-47, Hightower 8-39, Warner 1-8.
Passing » Carolina, Delhomme 7-14-0-90, M.Moore 0-1-0-0. Arizona, Warner 27-46-5-242.
Receiving » Carolina, Smith 3-56, Jarrett 2-22, Barnidge 1-7, King 1-5. Arizona, Hightower 8-57, Fitzgerald 6-66, Breaston 6-57, Boldin 3-23, Patrick 2-18, Stephens-Howling 1-14, Becht 1-7.
