 Julius Peppers came up with two huge plays for the Panthers on Sunday. (AP Photo) GLENDALE, Ariz. – Despite receiving some criticism earlier this year, defensive end Julius Peppers is beginning to build quite a Pro Bowl resume.
Peppers came up with two huge turnovers on Sunday, returning an interception 13 yards for a touchdown and stripping Kurt Warner of the football late in the fourth quarter to help seal Carolina’s 34-21 victory over Arizona.
Peppers now has seven sacks, two forced fumbles and a touchdown.
“ Man, what can you say about Julius Peppers?” linebacker Thomas Davis said after the game. “He went out and played like Julius Peppers and came away with two huge turnovers at key points in the game. All of the naysayers and people that are saying this and that about Julius Peppers, well you can say what you want about him, but we love him.”
Peppers’ touchdown was the third of his career and his first since he scoring a pair in 2004.
He scored the touchdown midway through the second quarter after eluding a low block by left tackle Wayne Gandy. The athletic Peppers leaped over Gandy and plucked the pass out of the air and ran untouched into the end zone to give Carolina a 28-7 lead.
“He tried to cut me and I was able to get away from the cut block and (Warner) threw it right to me,” Peppers said.
Panthers coach John Fox, who across the field to check on Peppers when he got the wind knocked out of him early in the game, said his four-time Pro Bowl defensive end is playing lights out. Behind Peppers, the Panthers forced six Warner turnovers and registered two sacks.
“I think he’s been tremendous during the last four weeks,” Fox said. “We need to be and he has been. I think he’s probably played as good of a stretch, in my opinion, these least four games as I’ve ever seen him play.” NO BREAK FOR HOOVER: Just when his back was starting to feel great, fullback Brad Hoover has suffered another injury.
But at least it’s not as bad as he thought.
Hoover was carted off the field Sunday with an ankle injury, although x-rays showed no break. Hoover has a high ankle sprain and left the locker room on crutches and with his right ankle in a soft cast. He said he'll have an MRI today.
“I didn’t break it, that’s the biggest thing,” Hoover said. “I thought I did. I felt it pop and I tried to get up and felt this shot of pain up my leg.”
His status for next week’s game against New Orleans is uncertain, but that injury normally keeps most players out at least a week or two, sometimes longer.
Backup fullback Tony Fiammetta also left the game after getting hit in the head and the Panthers at one point were left with just two healthy running backs, two tight ends and three receivers.
Afterward, DeAngelo Williams joked with Hoover about how much he missed him after running repeatedly from the one-back set. THE ROOKIE: Sherrod Martin made the most of his first NFL start on Sunday.
Filling in for the injured Charles Godfrey, Martin intercepted Warner twice in the game.
“As a defense we had guys applying pressure to the ball and when we do all those things good things happen,” said Martin, the team's second-round draft pick.
When a reporter joked with Martin that now fans are going to expect two interceptions every game, he joked, “That would be good.”
If Martin continues to play like this it will be tough for Charles Godfrey to get his starting job back. MOORE KEEPS BALL: As he ran off the field, backup quarterback Matt Moore carried the game ball with him under his arm.
“That one is for No. 17,” Moore said in the locker room before Jake Delhomme returned from the hospital. “I grabbed that one for Jake. I know he wants that one.” WILLIAMS NOW NO. 1: DeAngelo Williams surpassed DeShaun Foster as the franchise’s all-time leading rushing on Sunday.
Williams now has run for 3,352 yards, breaking Foster’s old record of 3,336.
His reaction to the news?
“Cool,” smiled Williams.
Williams was more excited about the team’s big win which may have helped save the season. Williams said the Panthers came in focused on Sunday.
“It all started with the divisional playoff game last year when they came in and just handed it to us,” Williams said. “The guys that were here last year that were a part of that game, they took this real serious today. And it showed out there. We played with a lot of passion. Our defense has played well since the bye week and the offense stepped up today.” FITZGERALD QUIET: Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald killed the Panthers in the playoffs last year, but the Panthers limited him to six catches for 66 yards Sunday and hit him hard repeatedly at the line of scrimmage.
Arizona lost No. 2 receiver Anquan Boldin in the first half after he re-aggravated his sprained ankle. He left with two receptions for 23 yards. SMITH HAS A HUGE BLOCK: Steve Smith gets a lot of credit for being a great receiver, but he made a huge block on Jonathan’s Stewart’s 10-yard touchdown run to put the Panthers up 14-7.
Smith said he takes as much pride in freeing up a running back as he does making a touchdown catch.
“A lot of people might say all I’m worried about is my catches and stats and he’s a crybaby, a whiner and a prima Donna, but I’ve thrown a lot of good blocks and some of those were unseen,” Smith said. WESLEY IN THE MIDDLE: The Panthers used Dante Wesley as a sixth defensive back on some formations to confuse the Cardinals – and it worked.
Wesley’s effort didn’t go unnoticed.
“He’s really considered just a special teams guy most of his career but he came out there and played great. He had some key stops,” Smith said. “Knowing Dante and being around him for so long, well, I was happy for him. I know that was important to him, too. He never complains about not getting out there (on defense) and today he took full advantage of his opportunity.” THE DWAYNE TRAIN: Dwayne Jarrett started in place of the injured Muhsin Muhammad and caught a 17-yard pass on the game’s first drive, leading to a Carolina touchdown.
NOTES: Inactive for the Panthers on Sunday were Muhammad (knee), Godfrey (ankle), TE Dante Rosario (knee), RB Tyrell Sutton, OT Garry Williams, OG Duke Robinson, and DT Nick Hayden. A.J. Feeley was the third quarterback again this week.
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