news-record.com

CHARLOTTE — On what was likely the last Sunday of the season for the Panthers to catch their breath, Carolina choked on the rare air of an easy win. Buffalo, with an offense that couldn't get out of its own way, stunned the Panthers 20-9 to end any pretense of hope.

Carolina fell to 2-4 with the impossible part of the schedule yet to play. Jake Delhomme, just when he couldn't get any worse, did. And once again, the final minutes were played in front of empty seats.

Jerry Richardson watched from the owner's box with his arms crossed as his team hit bottom on a day that was supposed to herald its return. Instead of clawing its way back to .500 after an 0-3 start, Carolina somehow lost to a team it held to 39 yards in offense in the first half.

Of course, the score was 7-2 Buffalo at the time. And of course, it would get worse. This year, it always does. Two weeks after providing the play of the game that sparked a win over Washington, return man Kenny Moore dropped a punt that sealed Carolina's fate. A week after a rousing speech to his teammates that inspired the win over Tampa, defensive end Julius Peppers provided no inspiration in the most disheartening loss of the season.

"This one hurt," said safety Chris Harris.

John Fox said all losses count the same, but the look on his face suggested he knew this one weighed more than the rest. Players fell on their swords, each taking blame for the inexplicable defeat.

Delhomme threw three more interceptions to run his league-leading total to a mind-boggling 13. He said the season has become a nightmare.

"Usually, I'm not too much at a loss for words," he said. "I'm kind of almost numb."

Moore said it was all his fault.

"This is probably the worst moment in my life," he said.

John Kasay, who missed two field goals, said he was sorry. Then he said what was probably the most glaring issue facing the Panthers.

"There's a big difference between 3-3 and 2-4," Kasay said.

He didn't have to finish the thought. The schedule will dictate everything from here. Carolina should be favored at home in December against Tampa Bay. But that might be it. The reeling Panthers now know they aren't a very good football team, and they know everybody else in the NFL knows it, too.

The Panthers outgained Buffalo 425 yards to 167, holding the Bills to 53 on the ground. But once again, Delhomme was terrible. This time he had a lot of help. Still, it was apparent afterward that the players were struggling to support him after still another bad outing. Not even Fox came to his aid this time.

"Like all positions, we'll evaluate it and whatever changes we need to make we'll make," he said.

Carolina's defense had outscored its offense entering the fourth quarter. By then, the stands had begun to clear. Those left, a good number of them wearing Buffalo jerseys, jeered the Panthers to the very end. There was plenty to jeer about as this one ran aground.

A touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams with 6:34 to play cut the improbable Buffalo lead to 17-9 and provided a glimmer of hope. Carolina was completely out of its game plan by then, though, and with Kasay having missed two field goals in a game for the first time in years, the Panthers had no other choice but to gamble on every play. Carolina went for it on fourth down on three occasions, in part because Fox had lost confidence in his kicker.

The final ignominy came after the defense stopped the Bills cold, as they did pretty much the entire game, and forced a punt with 5:25 to play. Moore settled under the line-drive kick at his 15-yard line then took a step forward. The ball hit him high and slammed into the ground as the sparse crowd moaned and the Carolina sideline went limp. Buffalo recovered.

"It was a low kick," Moore said. "I had a chance to catch it, and I dropped it. It bounced off my shoulder pads. It was all my fault."

He was consoled by Smith, and he was joined by others who also took the blame for the loss. And while Fox contended this loss was no harder than any other loss, his players begged to differ. They all know what comes next.

Say hello to Matt Moore and A.J. Feeley.

"I got faith in our backups," tackle Jordan Gross said. "But that seems like a break-glass-and-pull-the-handle type of thing."

It's time for that. The reckoning has just begun.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com