Panthers' rally good for 1st

Win puts Carolina atop NFC South

CHARLOTTE -- For only the third time in franchise history, the Carolina Panthers are 6-2 at the halfway point of their season.

They rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter -- matching the second-best comeback in team history -- to beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

Coupled with Tampa Bay's loss to Dallas, the win gave the Panthers sole possession of first place in the NFC South, one game ahead of the Buccaneers.

Carolina has a bye next week, which should allow enough time for injured offensive line starters Jeff Otah and Ryan Kalil (ankle sprains) to heal and be ready to return to the lineup for a Nov. 9 game at Oakland.

Only two teams in the league have a better record than Carolina -- 6-0 Tennessee, which plays Indianapolis tonight, and the 6-1 New York Giants.

Being "6-2 compared to 5-3 at the break, it's huge," said quarterback Jake Delhomme, who threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to wide receiver Steve Smith.

"Hopefully we can look back on this game down the line and say this was a pivotal win for us. We've given ourselves a chance."

The Panthers reached the NFC championship game the other two times they were 6-2, in 2003 and '05, and made it to the Super Bowl in '03.

Carolina's chances appeared dim in the third quarter when Arizona led 17-3.

The Panthers' offense was floundering, and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was dissecting the defense with pinpoint passing reminiscent of his MVP days with the St. Louis Rams nearly a decade ago.

Warner threw for 381 yards, the fifth-highest passing yardage total Carolina has allowed in a game.

"I tell you, man, that guy Kurt Warner, he's special," Panthers linebacker Jon Beason said.

Warner's ability to release the ball quickly short-circuited Carolina's heavy blitzing and pass-rushing pressure from defensive end Julius Peppers and others.

"It was very frustrating because sometimes it [felt] like no matter how fast you beat somebody, you [were] never going to get there," Peppers said.

The Panthers defense was caught off guard when Arizona's top two tight ends were deactivated because of injuries, causing the Cardinals to use more offensive sets than expected with four or even five wide receivers in a spread formation.

"We had to learn on the move because we didn't get a lot of practice in [working against] four- and five-wideout sets," safety Chris Harris said. "It was on-the-job training, I guess."

While the defense adjusted, the Carolina offense struggled so much that players said there was a spirited locker room discussion at halftime.

"There were a lot of bleeps in there," Smith said.

The game began to turn when Carolina got the ball for the first time in the second half with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Delhomme said he noticed the home crowd was quiet and that even the Panthers bench lacked energy.

"We needed to get the crowd back in the game," he said.

The stadium came to life when the Panthers gained 58 yards on their first three plays of the second half -- a 14-yard run by DeAngelo Williams, a 13-yard pass from Delhomme to Williams, then a 31-yard pass from to tight end Jeff King.

Moments later, Williams was scooting into the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown run.

"That drive gave us some life," Delhomme said. "It kind of woke us up."

Two plays later, the comeback got more fuel. Delhomme quickly threw a TD to Smith from there, and the score was tied.

But Warner wasn't finished. He drove the Cardinals 64 yards for a touchdown to retake the lead, 23-17. But Arizona failed to convert the extra point kick when the ball slipped out of the hands of holder Dirk Johnson before Neil Rackers could kick it.