News

Linebacker Jon Beason had 16 tackles Sunday, but it wasn't enough to prevent defeat. (PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- And then, it rained.

With seconds draining from the clock and the Panthers left with nothing but lament over a 20-10 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, the cold showers that fell since the start of the second quarter officially became an apt metaphor for a season that seemed to have clouds lurking over every horizon, beginning when Maake Kemoeatu tore an Achilles tendon during the first drill of training camp.

Enough injuries and frustration for three seasons followed, encapsulated by the fact that the Panthers had a different starting defensive lineup for the 13th time in a many games this year. If one issue was remedied, another arose just as quickly.

"We fought hard. We played hard. We were in a lot of games this season," said defensive tackle Damione Lewis. "That's just how it is sometimes. ... Last year a lot of those breaks went our way and we won a lot of close games. This year it's just going the other way for us."

If a sage had told the Panthers' players they'd be 5-8 after their trip to New England ...

"I'd tell him, 'You're a fool," Beason said. "Just like that. No way."

"I would have thought we were a better football team," said wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad. We're definitely a better football team than 5-8."

But in a defeat that seemed to summarize the season, the Panthers couldn't muster enough consistent offense, made mistakes at critical junctures and couldn't prevent a 96-yard, third-quarter Patriots drive that gave them the lead for good.

"I'm not sure we're playing quite well enough to win against good teams," head coach John Fox said, "but we'll continue to fight hard and work to improve."

THE DEFEAT WAS SEALED with a 47-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal with 3:56 remaining. But the kick wouldn't have happened if rookie defensive end Everette Brown had avoided contact with the plant leg of New England punter Chris Hanson. The collision came when Hanson was at his apex on the punt, spawning the 15-yard roughing-the-kicker penalty that resuscitated New England's possession.

"It was just a mistake. I was going full speed," Brown said. "It wasn't the smartest thing to do."

Brown's infraction helped the Patriots clinch the game, but it wasn't necessarily the costliest of the Panthers' nine penalties for a season-high 92 yards -- 67 more than the Patriots were assessed for their four penalties.

An odd trend took root as the Panthers were whistled four times for illegal shifts. Three were declined but the one that was accepted was costly; it nullified a 15-yard Matt Moore pass to Steve Smith that would have moved the Panthers to the New England 30-yard-line and kept alive a drive that was in third-and-seven.

Carolina wouldn't convert another third down for the rest of the game.

"A couple of times I'm not sure we were set with our offensive line before motion, and that's what they were getting us on," Fox said.

"On one of them, we kind of rushed it, but on one drive, we had a couple of them," added left tackle Travelle Wharton. "I still don't have any idea what was going on. I just know that we were going in a different direction than we needed to go in."

The most damaging penalty in terms of yardage was a pass-interference call against linebacker James Anderson, who drew a 30-yard penalty for making contact with New England tight end Benjamin Watson with 2:49 left before halftime.

"The angle that I saw, I didn't think it was a pass-interference call. But you've got to keep playing the game," Beason said.

The Panthers kept playing, but they couldn't stop the Patriots on that drive; New England moved to the Carolina 21 with the penalty and tied the game five plays later on Sammy Morris's three-yard touchdown run.

Carolina would not lead again, although the Panthers had opportunities to regain control of the proceedings. The first chance came in the final minute of the first half, when the Panthers had two timeouts and possession at their 31-yard-line. But as Matt Moore completed two passes, Carolina opted not to stop the clock, leaving it to drain to 13 seconds before taking another snap.

The third quarter began with the Panthers' third takeaway of the game, coming when Charles Godfrey jarred loose the football from Morris, allowing linebacker Dan Connor to recover. A handoff to DeAngelo Williams and a Moore pass to Jeff King picked up 26 and 12 yards, respectively, and Carolina had the ball at the New England 48 and momentum back on their side.

Three plays later, the Panthers committed the illegal shift that nullified the 15-yard pass to Smith. A subsequent punt was downed at the New England 4 after Dante Wesley saved it from going into the end zone, but the Patriots replied with a 13-play, 96-yard march that only saw them forced into two third downs. Both were converted, via passes of 13 and five yards to Wes Welker and Watson, respectively.

Watson had the score with his third-and-goal reception, but Welker provided the voltage, picking up 64 yards on five receptions en route to a 10-catch, 105-yard afternoon.

"He got lost a couple of times in the zone," said defensive end Julius Peppers. "Tom Brady is a great quarterback and he's going to find him. Along with the breakdowns in the run defense, we had a couple of times where we let him get loose in the middle of the defense, and it hurt us."

Thanks in part to Welker's darts through the Carolina secondary, the game ended in similar fashion to the Panthers' other games against the AFC East -- all defeats by margins between seven and 11 points. The average score of those games was 20.2 to 10.5, making Sunday's loss a representative sample of the four games against the division.

"We've played with everybody," Beason said. "I'm not too fond about getting swept by the AFC East; there are definitely some games there we should have won. But we've all had our hands in it. Hopefully it's a learning experience."

WITH THE EIGHTH LOSS OF THE SEASON, the Panthers' goal of consecutive winning seasons will remain elusive. Barring an unlikely collection of circumstances, so will a Super Bowl, two words the players bellowed during huddles at the end of offseason and training-camp huddles. Pride and professionalism, both for themselves and the sake of the fans who will attend or watch their next three games, are the magic words now.

"I don't think there's any quit in anyone on this team," Wharton said. "We're going to go out and practice and compete against each other, and we're going to try to beat each other and let it carry over into the game. We've got some high character guys on this team. There's no quit in us."

Added Beason: "It's tough, because you've got injuries, you're bringing in new guys and a whole new defensive coaching staff. I think we've responded well with the cards we were dealt,"

"But at the end of the day, it's not an excuse."