Published: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 07:57 AM

Beuerlein says Delhomme's run can't beat his own

CHARLOTTE -- It was a nice run, Jake Delhomme's game-clincher from Sunday.

But the best quarterback run in franchise history?

“C'mon man, you know better than that,” former Carolina quarterback Steve Beuerlein said Monday morning, a tinge of incredulousness in his voice.

Delhomme's 9-yard bootleg sealed the Panthers' 20-17 win over Washington, but it still doesn't compare with the Beuerlein's 5-yard plunge in Green Bay on Dec. 12, 1999, which gave the Panthers a last-second 33-31 win.

Beuerlein was laughing heartily Monday when asked to compare his run to Delhomme's, saying there truly was no comparison.

“I mean, there's no question, is there?” Beuerlein said. “I mean, a nice bootleg to seal a home win in October is good, but I took it to the house, to win a game in Lambeau Field, to keep us in playoff contention.

“I respect Jake for trying to make a move, but let's be honest, I think I could make a better move than that.”

Beuerlein, who now works calling college football and NFL games for CBS, was in Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, watching the game from a corporate suite behind the play. He said the play-call was excellent, and the fake was good, but he worried when he saw Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall closing fast.

“Jake made a heck of a play, but the corner didn't do a good job of tackling,” Beuerlein said. “When I saw the corner coming, I didn't think he had a chance.”

Then again, no one thought Beuerlein had a chance that day in Green Bay.

Then-Packers coach Ray Rhodes had saved his timeouts, letting the clock roll to give the Panthers a chance for the final play of the game. Beuerlein remembers coach George Seifert, still wearing his sunglasses on a cold and overcast day in Wisconsin, catching the entire huddle off-guard with his decision.

“When George looked at us and said ‘I don't think they'll be expecting a quarterback draw,' everybody just busted out laughing,” Beuerlein said. “I thought, OK, everybody's having fun with old Steve Beuerlein, what's the call really? But then he said, ‘Yeah, that's it, let's run the quarterback draw.' I knew walking back to the field nobody was going to believe it, and as soon as I called the play, everybody in the huddle started cracking up.

“I told them just to do their jobs, and I'd take care of it. Then I soared in, I mean I soared, man, for that touchdown.”

YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE — Panthers coach John Fox said he honestly couldn't tell whether fullback Brad Hoover crossed the plane of the goal line or not on his fourth-down plunge, which ended up in the hands of tight end Jeff King.

By rule, you can't fumble forward on fourth downs, so the Redskins got the ball

“We might have the worst seat in the house from where we watch the game (on the sideline),” Fox said. “It was a wad of bodies, and it's hard to say. … It's hard to visualize depth-wise whether Hoov crossed the plane, where the ball was, all that fun stuff.

“But at the end of the play the ball came out, and Jeff King had it across the goal line. Whether he had broken the plane or not, who knows? You can't tell on our copy, and if we send it to them, they won't be able to tell any more than we can tell, so it was unfortunate.”

The ridiculous part might have been that the officials didn't seem to know either, because the play was ruled a touchdown on the field, and referee Walt Coleman didn't help his crew with his explanation.

“We never could see the ball at all to determine whether it broke the plane,” Coleman said. “When we could finally see the ball, it wasn't anywhere near the goal line when it came out. We just didn't have a shot in all of those bodies of where the ball was when he went in there. It looked like it was short, but we didn't have video evidence of the ball breaking the plane.”

RARE FEAT — The Panthers achieved a unique quintet Sunday, scoring in every way you possibly can (touchdown, kicked extra point, two-point conversion, field goal and safety).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened was on Nov. 9, 2008, when Baltimore got all five in a 41-13 win over Houston.

The Panthers, however, had never done it prior to Sunday. The closest they came was in the 2003 opener against Jacksonville, when they got everything but the two-point conversion. It wasn't for a lack of trying, as Jake Delhomme tried passing for a pair of them during the 24-23 comeback win.

EXTRA POINTS — The Panthers made a practice squad change Monday, signing former Tampa Bay second-round pick Dexter Jackson.

The former Appalachian State star (who caught two touchdowns, including a 68-yarder, in the Mountaineers' 2007 win at Michigan) was a favorite of Panthers brass prior to last year's draft. Receivers coach Richard Williamson attended Jackson's pro day workout in Boone, N.C., and his track-star speed had them thinking he had potential as a slot receiver.

Tampa Bay pigeonholed him as a return man only, and he lost that job midway through last year. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason opener this year for the Bucs, and was waived at final cuts. His agent said Monday they have filed a grievance against Tampa Bay.

The Panthers brought him in for a visit Sept. 1, but he has only recently been well enough to pass physicals. ...

To make room for Jackson on the practice squad, the Panthers released wideout Jason Chery, an undrafted rookie from Louisiana-Lafayette. ...

Fox hedged Monday when asked if Kenny Moore would keep the kickoff return job, despite his game-changing 55-yarder in the third quarter, which propelled them to the comeback from a 17-2 deficit. Fox said he wanted to wait to see how rookie Mike Goodson recovers from his concussion before making any declarations.