#Panthers, Delhomme have pitiful showing in opening loss to #Eagles

In a season opener that eerily resembled their playoff collapse eight months earlier at Bank of America Stadium, the Carolina Panthers were thoroughly beaten Sunday in a 38-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quarterback Jake Delhomme picked up right where he left off against the Cardinals, throwing four interceptions and fumbling once before coach John Fox mercifully pulled him from the game with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter.

Josh McCown replaced Delhomme, but went down hard on a sack early in the fourth period and hobbled off the field with a knee injury as No. 3 quarterback Matt Moore took over.

After initially resting on the sidelines, McCown was carted off the field late in the fourth quarter.

Delhomme was 7 of 17 passing for 73 yards, four interceptions and a fumble.

Delhomme now has 11 turnovers (nine interceptions and two fumbles) in his past seven quarters of play, and it's reasonable to ask whether his confidence has drifted nearly out of sight.

He had five interceptions in a fumble in Carolina's 33-13 playoff loss to Arizona.

The Panthers totaled seven turnovers Sunday, their most in a single game since a loss to St. Louis in their inaugural 1995 season.

Picking up the pieces after this latest debacle, which played out with former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliable looking on as owner Jerry Richardson's special guest, will be a huge challenge for Fox and his staff.

The Panthers don't know whether they have a quarterback, despite making a commitment to keep Delhomme with a contract extension in the offseason.

Carolina started off strong Sunday, driving 70 for a touchdowns on its first offensive possession, resulting in an 11-yard touchdowhn run by DeAngelo Williams.

But even on that drive, Carolina struggled at times, committing three false start penalties and using two of their three first-half timeouts.

It got nothing but worse for Carolina after that as the Eagles and their blitzing defense poured it on.

Carolina's offensive line wasn't able to protect Delhomme, and he showed neither confidence nor accuracy while throwing the ball.

The Panthers led 7-3 after the first quarter, but then were outscored 28-3 in the second period to trail 31-10 at halftime.

After throwing a first-period interception, Delhomme fumbled early in the second quarter when the Eagles brought an all-out blitz. Trent Cole got the sack and caused the fumble, and Victor Abiamiri recovererd the ball at the 2 and ran it in for a touchdown.

Later in the period, Delhomme was intercepted by Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown, who returned it to the Carolina 9.

It took Philadelphia only one play to score from there on a 9-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to tight end Brent Celek.

In between those two scores, Philadelphia scored on an 85-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson. It was the second longest punt return in Eagles history.

Philadlephia's offense also scored a second-quarter TD on a 74-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard run by Brian Westbrook.

Carolina's offense finally got a drive going late in the first half, but it stopped short at the Eagles' 3 when a Delhomme third-down pass was batted down.

The Panthers settled for a John Kasay field goal with 1:42 remaining in the half, cutting Philadelphia's lead to 31-10.

Delhomme's Arizona-like meltdown countined in the third period, as he committed his fourth and fifth turnovers of the game, and then was replaced by McCown with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the quarter.

On a third-and-18 play from the Carolina 27, Delhomme dropped back to pass and was heavily blitzed by the Eagles. Instead of taking a sack, he tried to throw to DeAngelo Williams in the flat. The pass was way short and Philadelphia linebacker Akeem Jordan intercepted it and returned it to the Carolina 9.

Two plays later, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb ran in for the score. However, the play may have been costly to Philadelphia because McNabb stayed down with an injury before being helped off the field and later taken to the locker room.

On the very first play when Carolina got the ball back, Delhomme tried a long pass to Steve Smith, but Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel intercepted at the Eagles' 28.

Earlier in the third quarter, Panthers linebacker Jon Beason intercepted McNabb after the Eagles had driven to the Carolina 30.

The Panthers' turnover problems continued in the fourth quarter even after Delhomme had exited the game. Moore threw an interception and rookie Mike Goodson fumbled.

The performance not only resemebled the playoff loss to Arizona, but was in keeping with the listless play the Panthers had in an 0-4 preseason.