NFL

Panthers: Great start, but season isn't finished yet

By wire services
Published November 7, 2005

TAMPA - The team that was searching for an identity a few weeks ago suddenly might have one.

The Panthers won't say it, but they don't have to. What they said on the field during Sunday's victory against the Bucs prompted one steady question in the locker room.

Are the Panthers the best team in the NFC?

"I don't know," safety Mike Minter said. "We've got a long ways to go. Eight more games before we decide who's going to be the best in the NFC. Right now, we're in the upper echelon as far as our record's concerned. We just need to continue to do what we're doing."

For the second straight week, the Panthers left behind the inconsistency of the early part of the season and played a nearly flawless game to improve to 6-2 and remain tied with Atlanta atop the NFC South. They also dropped the Bucs, who had been in first place since opening day, a game behind in the division standings.

"What does being 6-2 mean?" defensive tackle Brentson Buckner added. "It means we can still go 6-10."

"It's like how nobody remembers halftime scores. Same way with this season," coach John Fox said of the team's record.

With a large contingent of national media in attendance, the question was a dominant theme. A team Sports Illustrated picked to win the Super Bowl is, at the very least, making that look possible.

Against a defense ranked No.1 at the start of the day, the Panthers played the kind of football they did in their 2003 Super Bowl season. Quarterback Jake Delhomme (11-of-18 for 216 yards and a touchdown) was effective, and the running game had its moments with Stephen Davis rushing for two touchdowns.

"We had to find our identity as a team," cornerback Ken Lucas said. "I think we're finally coming together as a team and knowing what our strengths are and going out and putting it on the field."

With blowouts of Tampa Bay and Minnesota after three ugly wins, Carolina has won five straight and has the NFL's second-longest winning streak.

[Last modified November 7, 2005, 01:10:19]