Panthers Suddenly Back in Playoff Fray

The Carolina Panthers have seemed to turn the proverbial corner twice this year; the first turn came after wins against Washington and Tampa Bay, only to see the Panthers exposed as Jake Delhomme threw three picks in an explicable loss to a horrendous Bills team.

But as the clock expired on the Cats' 28-19 win over the Falcons, things seemed much, much different. Not only had the Panthers beaten a division rival, but they had somehow climbed back into the playoff picture in the NFC, and that thought alone didn't seem as impossible as Delhomme going turnover free against Atlanta ... which he'd just done.

That's not to say that the Panthers are a Super Bowl contender just yet; they're still 4-5. But for those that haven't bothered to check the standings so far, that's actually a decent mark in the NFC -- New Orleans and Minnesota are elite, but unless Andy Reid can figure out his short-yardage playcalling in the next hour or so, the wildcard leader might be sitting at 5-4, just one game ahead of the suddenly streaking Panthers.

Carolina won -- and this should be embarrassingly obvious to anyone who watches football reasonably closely -- by running the ball, by playing tough defense, and by keeping Delhomme out of situations that required anything more than game managing. Delhomme made some clutch throws, hitting Steve Smith for four-yard touchdowns twice on third and goal from the four-yard line.

On Atlanta's part, you have to give some credit to them given the fact that Michael Turner chalked up 100 yards very, very quickly only to leave with an ankle injury, meaning Jason Snelling was the lone back on the team. But Matt Ryan had a less-than-stellar game, tossing two picks and completing only 22 of his 41 passes. Of course, he had to pass 41 times because the Panthers were so efficient on offense, something that just didn't seem possible four weeks ago.