Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions Preview

By John Onan | Saturday, October 15, 2005 | ( 0 )

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The Carolina Panthers come into this game at Ford Field off two straight victories, and they look like a team that is righting the ship after a slow start. They are currently tied for second in the NFC West with the Atlanta Falcons with a 3-2 record, and only one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They're hoping to continue their roll against the up and down Detroit Lions.

As the Panthers have begun to play more inspired football, and so has their leader, quarterback Jake Delhomme. He is completing 58 % of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions, while throwing for exactly 1100 yards. He will be looking to test the Lions secondary with receivers Steve Smith and Keary Colbert.

Running back Stephen Davis, who comes in with 291 yards and among league leaders with seven touchdowns, and backup DeShaun Foster are both listed as questionable with knee injuries. Foster seems to be the worse for wear of the two, so expect Davis to receive the bulk of the action if he's able.

The Detroit Lions also enter this game on a winning note, thanks to defeating penalty plagued Baltimore 35-17, also at home, despite a poor outing from quarterback Joey Harrington. He went 10-of-23 for only 97 yards and a touchdown, while being picked off twice. His passer rating now stands at an embarrassing 52.7 on the season.
He may be just the medicine the Panthers secondary is looking for, as they've been torched the past two weeks by Brett Favre and Josh McCown respectively. Also troubling for the Lions, top receiver Roy Williams is listed as questionable with a quadriceps strain, just a week after Charles Rogers was suspended for four weeks by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Detroit has had the advantage of playing in the weak NFC North, where they lead the division despite a 2-2 record.

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