The Herald:Panthers rule

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Panthers rule

Carolinas' team takes down Redskins 20-17

By Darin Gantt The Herald

(Published November 17‚ 2003)

CHARLOTTE -- The Carolina Panthers did it again, and they did it for the two men who made it possible.

The Panthers came back to defeat the Washington Redskins 20-17 on Sunday at Ericsson Stadium when Stephen Davis ran for a 3-yard touchdown with one minute, nine seconds left in the game.

It was sweet revenge for Davis, who was released by the Redskins earlier this year. But it was even sweeter for Carolina owner Jerry Richardson, whose pride and joy improved to 1-6 all-time against the team most local fans supported before the Panthers came into existence in 1995.

"We did this for two guys today -- Stephen Davis and Mr. Richardson," said safety Deon Grant, who knocked away the Redskins' final pass attempt to seal the win. "Mr. Richardson had never beaten the Redskins, and Stephen had something personal against them. "They're part of the family, so we wanted to go out and do it for those two guys."

Davis rushed for 92 yards on 28 carries, giving him 1,084 yards for the season. He's just 37 yards short of breaking the franchise's single-season rushing record of 1,120 yards set by Anthony Johnson in 1996.

But Davis had to hold his breath at the end, while the replay official decided if the ball crossed the goal line on his game-winner before it was knocked away by Washington's Matt Bowen.

The play stood, capping the Panthers' fifth second-half comeback of the season. It also moved them to 8-2 and in excellent position for the playoffs with six games to play. Four of the Panthers' remaining six games are against teams with losing records.

The Panthers hold what amounts to a four-game lead for the NFC South title over New Orleans (5-5), since they swept the Saints earlier this season and own the tiebreaker. The team takes its NFC-best record to Dallas next week. The Cowboys were 7-2 entering Sunday's late game.

Contact Darin Gantt at dgantt@mindspring.com

Panthers' running back Stephen Davis tries to escape the grasp of Redskins' Jessie Armstead in the first quarter of Sunday's Carolina Panthers' game in Charlotte. Davis played for the Redskins until he was released earlier this year. This is the first time the Panthers have beaten the Redskins, which many regional NFL fans followed devoutly before Charlotte had its own team.