Carolina defense shuts down St. Louis

Nov 19, 2006, 21:40 GMT

Charlotte, NC - DeAngelo Williams ran for 114 yards and Mike Rucker had two sacks, including one for a safety, to lead a Panthers defense that held St. Louis to just 111 yards of offense, as Carolina came away with a 15-0 win over the Rams at Bank of America Stadium.

Jake Delhomme finished 13-of-25 for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Panthers (6-4), who have won two straight and moved into a first-place tie with the Saints atop the NFC South. New Orleans lost to Cincinnati on Sunday, 31-16.

'We're still a work in progress but we did some good things running the ball,' said Delhomme. 'I wish we could have put some more points on the board, but it was a big win. We needed it.'

Steve Smith added 90 yards and touchdown on four receptions for Carolina, which literally ran all over the Rams. The Panthers recorded a franchise- record 242 yards on the ground.

Thomas Davis, Chris Draft and Damione Lewis had 1 1/2 sacks each, as the Panthers sacked Marc Bulger a franchise-record seven times.

'It's out best [defensive] performance to date, not question,' said Carolina head coach John Fox. 'I think guys knew they were going to be up against a stiff challenge. St. Louis came into this game ranked in the top 10 in offense in the league. I thought they rose to the occasion.'

Steven Jackson had 27 of the 31 yards rushing for the Rams, who had only eight first downs, converted only 2-of-12 third downs and lost the time of possession battle nearly 2-to-1.

Bulger ended 19-of-34 for 142 yards with an interception for St. Louis (4-6), which has lost five in a row.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers finally got going on offense with consecutive scoring possessions late in the second quarter.

First, John Kasey capped a 10-play, 66-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal with 4:06 left until halftime.

Then, after holding the Rams to a three-and-out, Delhomme hit Smith for a 62- yard catch and run TD on the second play of the ensuing possession to increase the lead to 10-0 with 1:31 remaining until halftime.

The St. Louis offense was horrid in the first half, gaining only 38 yards and allowing five sacks, and things didn't get any better in the second half.

After Christian Morton picked off Bulger and returned the ball seven yards to the St. Louis seven, Kasey booted a 34-yard field goal to increase the lead to 13-0.

Rucker then capped the scoring by sacking Bulger in the end zone with 2:24 left for the 15-point win.

Game Notes

Panthers running back DeShaun Foster left the game in the second quarter after hyper-extending his left elbow. He went for x-rays and did not return. He finished with 63 yards on nine carries.

Isaac Bruce left the game in the fourth quarter with blurry vision.

Torry Holt had seven catches for 68 yards.

One week after Julius Peppers (51 1/2) became the first Panther to surpass the 50-sack mark, Rucker (51) did it this week.

© 2006 The Sports Network