2009 Carolina Panthers season The 2009 Carolina Panthers season was the 15th season for the team in the National Football League . They failed to improve on their franchise - record 12 – 4 season in 2008 and also failed to make the playoffs . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . Philadelphia Eagles . The Panthers began their season with a Week 1 duel with the Philadelphia Eagles . They were playing with Jake Delhomme , who had five interceptions , and one fumble in their postseason game , last year , vs . the Arizona Cardinals . In the first quarter , Carolina pounced first with running back DeAngelo Williams getting an 11 - yard touchdown run . The Eagles would respond with kicker David Akers getting a 49 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Philadelphia took control as Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme lost a fumble , which was recovered by defensive end Victor Abiamiri and returned two yards for a touchdown . Also , wide receiver DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown , and quarterback Donovan McNabb completed a 9 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Brent Celek and a 4 - yard touchdown pass to running back Brian Westbrook . The Panthers would close out the period with kicker John Kasay nailing a 22 - yard field goal . Afterwards , in the third quarter , the Eagles closed out their domination as McNabb got a 3 - yard touchdown run . With the loss , Carolina began its season at 0 – 1 . Delhomme ( 7 - of - 17 for 73 yards ) was benched after committing five turnovers ( four interceptions and a fumble ) . Week 2 : at Atlanta Falcons . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Eagles , the Panthers flew to the Georgia Dome for a Week 2 NFC South duel with the Atlanta Falcons . In the first quarter , Carolina delivered the first scratch as kicker John Kasay got a 38 - yard field goal . The Falcons would answer with quarerback Matt Ryan completing a 24 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez . The Panthers would retake the lead in the second quarter as running back DeAngelo Williams getting a 3 - yard touchdown run , but Atlanta would reply with Ryan completing a 10 - yard touchdown pass to running back Jason Snelling . Carolina would gain some ground as Kasay nailed a 50 - yard field goal , but the Falcons would close out the half with Ryan completing a 7 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roddy White . After a scoreless third quarter , Atlanta would pull away as running back Michael Turner getting a 1 - yard touchdown . The Panthers would try to rally , but get only get an 11 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Delhomme to tight end Dante Rosario . With the loss , Carolina fell to 0 – 2 . Week 3 : at Dallas Cowboys . Still looking for their first win of the season , the Panthers flew to Cowboys Stadium for a Week 3 Monday night duel with the Dallas Cowboys . After a scoreless first quarter , Carolina would get the lead in the second quarter with quarterback Jake Delhomme ' s 25 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Dante Rosario . The Cowboys would take the lead in the third quarter with kicker Nick Folk ' s 24 - yard field goal and running back Tashard Choice ' s 5 - yard touchdown run . Dallas would get a further grasp on the lead in the fourth quarter with Folk ' s 19 - yard field goal and cornerback Terence Newman returning Delhomme ' s 7th interception of the season 27 yards for a touchdown ( with Choice getting the 2 - point conversion run ) . The Panthers tried to rally , but the Cowboys ' defense would prevent their comeback from happening . With the loss , Carolina entered its bye week at 0 – 3 . Week 5 : vs . Washington Redskins . Following their bye week , the Panthers returned to Charlotte to face the Washington Redskins . After a DeAngelo Williams fumble , the Redskins struck first blood with quarterback Jason Campbell ' s 10 - yard touchdown pass to running back Clinton Portis . During the second quarter , linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive end Julius Peppers tackled Portis in the endzone for a safety , making the score 7 – 2 . The Redskins responded with a 39 - yard field goal by kicker Shaun Suisham . During the third quarter , cornerback DeAngelo Hall intercepted quarterback Jake Delhomme ' s pass and took it to the one , with Clinton Portis capping it off with a touchdown run , making it 17 – 2 . The Panthers then scored on a 17 - yard touchdown catch by tight end Jeff King . In the fourth quarter , kicker John Kasay booted a 43 - yard field goal , decreasing the lead to 17 – 12 . After a botched punt return by the Redskins , Carolina scored on an 8 - yard run by running back Jonathan Stewart . With the two point conversion pass to wide receiver Steve Smith , Carolina took a 20 – 17 lead . After a Washington punt , the Panthers ran out the clock with an 8 - yard run by Jake Delhomme . With the comeback win , the Panthers improved to 1 – 3 . Week 6 : at Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Coming off their win over the Redskins , the Panthers flew to Raymond James Stadium for a Week 6 NFC South duel with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Carolina would trail in the first quarter as Buccaneers running back Carnell Williams got a 20 - yard touchdown run , yet the Panthers would tie the game in the second quarter with a 20 - yard touchdown from running back DeAngelo Williams . In the third quarter , Carolina took the lead with quarterback Jake Delhomme ' s 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeff King and running back Jonathan Stewart ' s 26 - yard touchdown run . Tampa Bay would immediately answer with wide receiver Sammie Stroughter returning a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown . The Buccaneers would tie the game in the fourth quarter as safety Tanard Jackson returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown , but the Panthers got the last laugh as Williams got a 1 - yard touchdown run . With the win , Carolina improved to 2 – 3 . Cornerback Dante Wesley was ejected from the game in the second quarter after ramming into Buccaneers kick returner Clifton Smith . He would later get a one - game suspension . Week 7 : vs . Buffalo Bills . Coming off their divisional road win over the Buccaneers , the Panthers went home for a Week 7 interconference duel with the Buffalo Bills . Carolina would find themselves trailing in the first quarter as Bills running back Marshawn Lynch got a 7 - yard touchdown run . The Panthers would respond in the second quarter as defensive tackle Hollis Thomas tackled running back Fred Jackson in his endzone for a safety . After a scoreless third quarter , Buffalo got a big play in the fourth quarter as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completing a 2 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lee Evans , followed by kicker Rian Lindell nailing a 29 - yard field goal . Carolina tried to recover as running back DeAngelo Williams got a 15 - yard touchdown run , but the Bills would seal the win with Lindell ' s 22 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Panthers fell to 2 – 4 . Week 8 : at Arizona Cardinals . Hoping to rebound from their dismal home loss to the Bills , the Panthers flew to the University of Phoenix Stadium for a Week 8 duel with the Arizona Cardinals in a rematch of last year ' s divisional game . In the first quarter , Carolina would begin the game with a 6 - yard touchdown run from running back Jonathan Stewart . The Cardinals would answer with quarterback Kurt Warner completing a 14 - yard touchdown pass to running back LaRod Stephens - Howling . The Panthers would take a commanding lead in the second quarter as Stewart got a 10 - yard touchdown run , quarterback Jake Delhomme hooked up with wide receiver Steve Smith on a 50 - yard touchdown pass , and defensive end Julius Peppers returned an interception 13 yards for a touchdown . In the third quarter , Arizona began to rally as Warner connected with tight end Ben Patrick on a 1 - yard touchdown pass . Carolina would answer in the fourth quarter with a 35 - yard field goal from kicker John Kasay . The Cardinals tried to pull off a comeback as running back Tim Hightower got a 1 - yard touchdown run , yet the Panthers closed out the game with Kasay ' s 31 - yard field goal . With the amazing win , Carolina improved to 3 – 4 . The Panthers ' defense had a field day on Warner , recording 5 interceptions and a fumble recovery . Week 9 : at New Orleans Saints . Coming off a defensively - strong performance against the Cardinals , the Panthers flew to the Louisiana Superdome for a Week 9 NFC South duel with the undefeated New Orleans Saints . Carolina got off to a fast start in the first quarter as running back DeAngelo Williams got a 66 - yard and a 7 - yard touchdown run . The Saints would get on the board in the second quarter as kicker John Carney made a 23 - yard field goal . The Panthers came right back as kicker John Kasay nailed a 32 - yard field goal , but New Orleans would close out the half as Carney booted a 25 - yard field goal . In the third quarter , the Saints continued to hack away as running back Pierre Thomas got a 10 - yard touchdown run . Carolina answered with Kasay ' s 25 - yard field goal , but New Orleans would tie the game to end the period as quarterback Drew Brees completed a 54 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert Meachem . Afterwards , the Saints would pull away in the fourth quarter with Carney ' s 40 - yard field goal , followed by defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove forcing a fumble from Williams and returning it 1 yard for a touchdown . With the loss , the Panthers fell to 3 – 5 . Week 10 : vs . Atlanta Falcons . Hoping to rebound from their tough divisional road loss to the Saints , the Panthers went home for a Week 10 NFC South rematch with the Atlanta Falcons . Carolina would trail early in the first quarter as Falcons kicker Jason Elam booted a 35 - yard field goal , yet the Panthers came right as running back Jonathan Stewart got a 1 - yard touchdown run . Carolina would add to their lead in the second with quarterback Jake Delhomme hooking up with wide receiver Steve Smith on a 4 - yard touchdown pass , yet Atlanta would answer with a 1 - yard touchdown run from running back Jason Snelling . The Panthers would close out the half with Delhomme ' s 4 - yard touchdown pass to Smith . In the second half , the Falcons began to erase their deficit as Elam nailed a 24 - yard field goal in the third quarter , followed by quarterback Matt Ryan completing a 3 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Justin Peelle . Afterwards , Carolina would pull away as Stewart got a 45 - yard touchdown run . With the win , the Panthers would improve to 4 – 5 . Week 11 : vs . Miami Dolphins . Coming off their divisional home win to the Falcons , the Panthers went home for a Week 11 Interconference duel with the Miami Dolphins . In the first quarter , Carolina got on the board first with John Kasay hitting a 29 - yard field goal . In the second quarter the Dolphins replied and took the lead with Chad Henne getting a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Ricky Williams , and a 1 - yard touchdown run from Williams again . After a scoreless third quarter the Panthers slightly improved as John Kasay nailed a 33 - yard field goal , until Miami kept it a 2 - possession game when Dan Carpenter got a 37 - yard field goal . The Panthers would keep hopes alive as Jake Delhomme made a 27 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith ( with a successful 2 - point conversion made by DeAngelo Williams ) . The Dolphins would pull away as Ricky Williams made a 46 - yard touchdown run . The 48 - yard field goal made by John Kasay near the end of the game wasn ' t enough for the Panthers and that resulted in a loss . With the loss , the Panthers fell to 4 – 6 . Week 12 : at New York Jets . With both teams coming off of tough losses , the Panthers went on the road to face the formidable defense of the New York Jets in what was on paper a close matchup . Both teams sported identical 4 – 6 records and were top 3 in rushing offense , while sporting similar numbers in pass defense game . Things started out well for Carolina , their first drive taking almost 6 minutes of clock to drive down into Jets territory when bad luck struck them . A miscommunication between Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith resulted in a pass being fired at Smith while he wasn ' t looking , and it caromed off of Smith ' s leg into the arms of Jets ' CB Darrelle Revis , who returned it 67 yards for a TD . It was the first of Delhomme ' s 4 INTs of the day , two each by Revis and safety Kerry Rhodes . Rhodes ' first set the Jets up in good field position , which the Jets were able to capitalize on when Thomas Jones ran the ball in for a 4 yard TD . The Panthers soon after that struggled to do anything against the Jets defense and secured only two John Kasay field goals for a 17 – 6 defeat . The Panthers fell to 4 – 7 and wound up losing Jake Delhomme to a broken finger on his throwing hand .