Panthers take down Broncos

With ailing owner attending game, Carolina provides a dose of victory

CHARLOTTE -- With ailing owner Jerry Richardson watching from his open-air luxury suite, the Carolina Panthers completed an unbeaten home regular season and set the stage for a Big Apple showdown next week for the right to play as many as two playoff games at Bank of America Stadium.

In what is rapidly evolving into a storybook season, the Panthers followed up a spectacular Monday night win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 30-10 thumping of the Denver Broncos.

This one had all the markings of being a trap game, but the Panthers refused to let up in their quest to win the title Richardson has been wanting since the franchise began playing in 1995.

It was way back in '96 when Carolina last went 8-0 at home in the regular season.

Not known for exorbitant praise, coach John Fox declared it a big accomplishment and tipped his hat to his players.

"We've got a unique bunch," he said. "I think it was something they put on their list of goals and we were able to accomplish it. I think it's been done one other time here in this organization. It's not easy to do anywhere, so those guys are to be commended."

There's hardly any way to measure how much it meant to Richardson, who is awaiting a heart transplant. He didn't visit the players in the locker room but took his customary seat in his box behind the West end zone. Later in the game, he sat draped in a Panthers blanket.

"I think the best medicine for him right now is us winning," quarterback Jake Delhomme said.

Carolina (11-3) is two games ahead of NFC South rivals Tampa Bay and Atlanta after the Falcons' dramatic overtime win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.

The Panthers can clinch the division championship with a victory either next Sunday night against the New York Giants or on Dec. 28 against the Saints at New Orleans.

The Giants game carries even more significance because home-field advantage throughout the playoffs will be at stake.

Because Sunday's game against Denver was sandwiched between the big win against Tampa Bay and the game against the Giants, Fox tried to make sure the Panthers didn't overlook the Broncos or become overconfident because of the praise they received for beating the Buccaneers convincingly.

"It was a very emotional game [against the Bucs]," he said. "Our fans were jacked up. It was against a division rival. ... I thought our guys handled it really, really well."

Defensive end Julius Peppers said the Panthers were -- and are -- determined not to let their play lapse.

"All these things that are happening, all this positive energy that's coming is good," he said. "But we're not going to fall into that trap of thinking we're better than what we are right now."

Denver had beaten all three other teams in the NFC South and took a 7-0 lead against the Panthers but didn't do much after that.

Defensively, the Broncos used what was essentially a 4-4 defense -- four defensive linemen backed by four linebackers -- in an attempt to shut down a Carolina running game that had a franchise 299 yards rushing against Tampa Bay.

That left only three defenders in pass coverage, including a deep safety.

Delhomme said the Panthers had not seen that on film. However, offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy quickly made adjustments.

After only two plays, they instructed Delhomme to go to a no-huddle offense, hoping to take advantage of the mismatches left open by the Broncos' extra attention to the run.

"You've got to go back to basics when you see some of those things and I think we did that," Delhomme said. "I think we kind of caught them (off guard) a little bit. Guys made some plays. That was a good call by our coaches."