Published: 12:50 AM, 11/20/2009

Last updated: 11:46 AM, 11/23/2009

By: Steve Behr Sports Editor

By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
CHARLOTTE - A think fog rolled into Bank of America Stadium shortly after the Carolina Panthers played the Miami Dolphins. Even that could not cover up the Panthers' problems scoring touchdowns.
The Dolphins scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and then kept the Panthers safety at arm's length in a 24-17 victory at Bank of America Stadium Thursday night.

The Panthers (4-6) failed to reach the .500 mark again after a win Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons gave them a chance to win two games in a row for just the second time this season.

Running the ball worked fairly well for the Panthers. DeAngelo Williams gained 122 yards on 13 carries, including a 50-yard burst in the third quarter. However, the Panthers' offense struggled to find the end zone by settling for three John Kasay field goals. In fact, they did not score in either of their trips inside the red zone.

"We're not getting in because of execution," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "They were doing a god job, especially down in there on a couple of third downs with their four-man rush. ...There's no pointing fingers. We just didn't get it done."

However, the Dolphins (5-5) got 119 yards and touchdown runs of 1 and 46 yards, from Ricky Williams. The 1-yarder was scored out of the Wildcat formation on a direct snap, which gave the Dolphins a 14-3 lead they took into halftime.

"It came down to their opportunities," Panthers coach John Fox said. "They scored touchdowns and on our opportunities, we scored field goals. That was probably the difference in the game."

The Panthers cruised through the Miami defense on their first drive of the game, reaching the Dolphins' 7-yard line. However, the drive stalled and Kasay booted a 29-yard field goal, giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

Miami eventually took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter on a 14-yard Chad Henne scoring pass to Ricky Williams. The Dolphins scored on their next drive, a 29-yard, seven-play march set up by a short punt, when Williams lined up in the Wildcat formation and raced to his right side and scored, putting the Dolphins up 14-3.

"Coach always talks about finishing," Williams said. "Sometimes in this league, it's a physical game and it's difficult to finish. I think in the past we have prided ourselves on finishing games and we did a good job tonight."

The Dolphins ended up with 152 yards rushing and 326 yards in total offense, but both lagged behind the Panthers' totals of 182 rushing yards and 383 yards of total offense.

"We did some decent things in the run game," Fox said of his defense. "We missed that long run there at the end and that was a critical play. I thought other than that, we played the run decent."

That running play at the end Fox mentioned was a 46-yard touchdown run Williams cranked out with 3:55 left in the game. It gave Miami a 24-14 lead one drive after Delhomme found Steve Smith for a 27-yard touchdown pass.

That play, and DeAngelo Williams' ensuing 2-point conversion run, capped a 68-yard, eight-play march, but it also came with a price. The Panthers were called for a personal foul after the play, which meant they had to kick off from the 15-yard line.

That gave Miami the ball at its own 41. Four plays later, including an 18-yard completion to Davone Bass, Williams was in the end zone.

"We couldn't get much going," Delhomme, who completed just 19-of-42 passes for 227 yards, said. "We knew going into the game that it was going to be one of these types of games, a big strong physical team like they are rotating a lot of guys in there. We would kind of move it a little and then we'd stall."

Dolphins 24, Panthers 17

Dolphins     0 14 0 10 - 24
Panthers    3 0 0 14 - 17

Scoring summary
First quarter
Car-Kasay FG 29

Second quarter
Mia-Williams 14 pass from Henne (Carpenter kick)
Mia-Willliams 1 run (Carpenter kick)

Fourth quarter
Car-Kasay FG 33
Mia-Carpenter FG 37
Car-Smith 27 pass from Delhomme (Williams run)
Mia-Williams 46 run (Carpenter kick)
Car-Kasay FG 48

        Miami        Carolina
First downs    17        22
Rushes-yards    31-154        27-182
Passing yards    172        201
Passes        17-29-0    10-42-1
Total plays-yards    60-326    73-383
Punts-avg.    6-50.2        5-42.0
Penalties-yards    5-30    4-35
Fumbles-lost    2-0        0-0

Individuals
Rushing: Miami-Williams 22-119, Hilliard 4-24, Polite 4-11, Heene 1-0; Panthers-Williams 13-122, Stewart 12-43, Delhomme 2-17.
Passing: Miami-Henne 17-29-0 172; Panthers-Delhomme 19-42-1 227.
Receiving: Miami-Bess 6-63, Ginn 4-32, Hartline 2-47, Williams 2-19, Hilliard 2-7, Camarillo 1-4; Panthers-Smith 7-87, Rosario 4-40, Muhammad 3-27, Barnidge 2-46, Sutton 2-18, Williams 1-9.

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