SAN DIEGO -- The game clock was no longer a factor for Jake Delhomme. It had been shut off as the last play of the game unfolded.
The speed of the action also didn't factor in. "Everything seemed like it was in slow motion," the Carolina Panthers quarterback said.
So all Delhomme had to worry about at the end of a wild Sunday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium, his team trailing the San Diego Chargers by five points, was to find one of five potential receivers who had streaked to the end zone 14 yards away. Enveloped in a cocoon of mind-numbing sound generated by the sellout crowd of 67,115, staring into a mixture of light and shadow, Delhomme pump-faked to spread the defenders, looked down the middle and spotted tight end Dante Rosario near the back of the end zone.
"I thought then we might have a chance," Delhomme said.
He whipped a bullet pass that just eluded Chargers defensive back Eric Weddle, one of three San Diego defenders in the vicinity, and came to a jarring halt in the sure hands of Rosario, who had stretched his 6-4, 250-pound frame to make the catch.
As silence washed over those in the crowd, standing with mouths agape and eyes lowered, Delhomme took off in search of a back to slap, a teammate to embrace.
"I felt like Jim Valvano," he said.
Just like that, the underdog Panthers had pulled out a 26-24 victory on opening day.
Just like that, Carolina, coming off a 7-9 season, and Delhomme, who played in only three games last year because of an elbow injury, had stunned a Chargers squad that went 11-5 last season, reached the AFC championship game and has been projected as a serious Super Bowl contender.
Such grandiose plans have temporarily been put on hold. Instead, San Diego's immediate concern is to prevent Sunday's disappointing start from snowballing into last year's early-season collapse when the Chargers lost three of their first four and had to claw their way back to a postseason berth.
Nobody's pulling out those "Sack Coach Norv Turner" signs. Not yet. Nobody's chanting for the return of previous coach Marty Schottenheimer. Not yet.
But the mood of euphoria surrounding this team has definitely been dampened, replaced by a here-we-go-again attitude.
The Chargers' key performers were all a little bit off Sunday, blunted by a tough Panthers defense. Leading rusher LaDainian Tomlinson had a game-high 97 yards rushing, but didn't get into the end zone. Quarterback Philip Rivers threw three passes for touchdowns, but gained only 217 yards through the air. Tight end Antonio Gates caught a team-high four passes for 61 yards but was guilty of a fumble and suffered a hip bruise.
