Miscues spoil Panthers RB Williams' impressive showing

By Darin Gantt - dgantt@heraldonline.com

NEW ORLEANS -- Having DeAngelo Williams run wild used to mean a sure win for the Carolina Panthers.

But that was before Williams had a fumbling problem.

The normally sure-handed back struggled Sunday, with a huge mistake late and some smaller ones earlier in the Panthers' 30-20 loss at New Orleans.

Williams' fourth-quarter fumble was recovered for a touchdown by Saints defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove, clinching the game and helping the 8-0 Saints to the best start in franchise history.

It was Williams' third lost fumble this season, after he entered with just two fumbles and one lost in his first three years in the NFL.

“It's kind of rough to lose this one,” Williams said. “This one right here was a tough one, especially in the manner in how we lost. The defense got us the ball back, and I commit a turnover. That's how games are won and lost, and whoever plays throughout the fourth quarter and whoever makes the least amount of mistakes. I think they made their plays when it counted and we didn't.

“I think we did a good job of running the ball, but we can't turn it over against a good team.”

Williams finished with 149 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, quick ones in the first quarter that staked the Panthers to a 14-0 lead.

But as the game wore on, his ability to hit the soft spots in the New Orleans defense evaporated.

The Panthers took over at their own 2-yard line with 4 minutes, 36 seconds left, trailing 23-20 and still very much in the game. They decided to run their way to a little breathing room.

“The defensive lineman stuck his hand out there and put his hand on the ball,” Williams said. “He wasn't even making the tackle. It's just those flailing arms that got it. I have to go back to the drawing board and get my ball security right.”

The mistake was rare for Williams, who was known as being one of the most trustworthy backs in the league prior to this season.

As soon as the ball popped loose and into a pile of Saints, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme's hands went to the sides of his head in disbelief, realizing their best chance at an upset was gone in a moment.

“It's unfortunate what happened, but that's football,” Delhomme said. “I handed it off and saw the ball come out. And I saw No. 69 recover it right then and there. It was evident it was a fumble from my vantage point.

“The first thing that went through my mind was ‘Game over.' I mean, we didn't have any timeouts left, and that was it.”

That one was just the last of a series of small mistakes throughout the day which doomed the Panthers, and just one of Williams' slipups.

He was like the rest of his teammates, noting the frustration of a day that was very nearly perfect, very nearly the exact thing they needed.

Even after makeshift fullback Mackenzy Bernardeau bumped into Delhomme on a first-and-goal from the Saints' 1 in the third quarter, they still had a chance at a touchdown, but Williams dropped a third-down pass and they had to kick a field goal.

“I should have (caught it),” Williams said. “I didn't have my hands right to catch it. It was definitely a catchable ball, and I should have caught it.”

“Hey, those mistakes happen,” wide receiver Steve Smith said of Williams. “I just talked to him and told him those things are going to happen in this game. It's unfortunate. A guy like that, who runs with that many opp-ortunities, those things are going to happen.

“Unfortunately, it happened at the wrong place at the wrong time. You've got to let it roll off your back, somehow, some way.”