The Most Revealing Statistic in Sports History. Or, Why a Good Panthers Team Will Be Playing Golf Next Week

In the Carolina Panthers' eight wins this season, they ran more than they passed eight times. In their eight losses, they ran more than they passed only once. The one loss where they rushed more often, against the Saints in week 9, is also a bit misleading, because the Panthers were winning the game handily in the first half, when Jake Delhomme threw five passes, and then choked the victory away in the second, when Delhomme inexplicably threw 25 times.

The only question that remains is why John Fox, who has a Super Bowl appearance on his resume, used a pass-first offense so often this year. Such a strategy led to the tragicomedy of Delhomme's opening-week performance against the Eagles: 7-17, 0 touchdowns, four picks, 14.7 QB rating. Or if you prefer, the just as funny/heart-wrenching week 10 performance, against the Jets: 14-34, 130 yards, 0 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 12.7 rating. Football fans with no rooting interest got some laughs, so Fox scores some points there, but repeatedly asking the quarterback to win the game also kept them out of the playoffs. The run-first Panthers thoroughly outplayed three of the four best teams in the NFC this year, so who knows where they'd be right now had they relied on Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to move the offense every week.