Quinn S & L Media

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As painful as the Eagles defeat in Arizona was, the Panthers might have been even more stunned by their loss. Playing at home, Carolina was steamrolled by the Cardinals 33-13 and quarterback Jake Delhomme had an astounding six turnovers. In trying to get over the hump, the Eagles and Panthers took different off-season approaches. The Eagles shook up their offensive line, brought in Michael Vick, and drafted two explosive offensive players early. The Panthers, meanwhile, focused more on keeping their nucleus together, even extending quarterback Jake Delhomme, despite his playoff performance. While the Eagles may have more talent on paper, they haven't had much experience playing together as a group, so it figures to be an exciting and hotly contested season opener.


The Last Time They Met:

December 4, 2006: Eagles 27, Panthers 24

On Monday Night Football, Jeff Garcia and the Eagles fought from behind for most of the game before finally pulling ahead and holding on in the end. Trailing by a touchdown at the half, the Eagles opened up the second half scoring with a 30-yard touchdown reception by Donté Stallworth. Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams answered back as he took a screen pass in for a touchdown to put Carolina back on top. After the two teams traded field goals, Garcia hit Reggie Brown for a 40-yard touchdown pass to tie the score. A David Akers field goal put the Eagles up three with three minutes to play. The Panthers final drive looked promising until cornerback Lito Sheppard picked off Delhomme in the end zone to preserve victory. Garcia threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns on the night and the win put the Eagles in a tie atop the wild card race in the NFC with a 6-6 record.