The good news for Carolina: The Jake Delhomme career deathwatch can take a week off.
The bad news: they are still two games behind Atlanta and New Orleans in the NFC South after losing 28-20 to the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.
Delhomme played fairly well, especially in the second half, where he completed 16-of-23 passes for 184 yards before finally throwing an interception on a fourth down late in the game. (Delhomme finished with 308 yards and threw for a touchdown.)
But Matt Ryan was clearly the best quarterback in the game, throwing for three scores and 220 yards on only 27 surgical attempts. Tony Gonzalez caught seven passes for 71 yards and his second touchdown in as many weeks.
So, Steve Smith may like Delhomme again as a quarterback, not just as a person. But he may not like Carolina’s overlooked weaknesses: a mediocre defense and a thin receiver corps.
The Panthers aren’t in full panic mode yet, but they will be next week if they lose at Dallas and fall further behind the Saints and Falcons in a division that may not be nearly as balanced as it was last year.