Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the 5-1 Panthers in a first half that silenced the home crowd from the opening kickoff.

	Jake Delhomme completed 31 of 49 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked four times. (AP Photo)

Brad Hoover muffed a pooch kick and Tennessee's Ray Wells recovered on the Carolina 30-yard line, putting the visitors in scoring position just four seconds into the game. Five plays later Titans quarterback Steve McNair ran seven yards for a touchdown and Tennessee never looked back.

"I had no visions of going undefeated," said Panthers head coach John Fox after the loss. "I didn't want to lose a game like that. We go into every game expecting to win and doing everything we can to win. The reality is that it doesn't happen much. We didn't play well enough for us to win. We've got some things to work on. We've got a lot of work to do."

On their first offensive possession, the Panthers gained seven yards and were forced to punt. Tennessee drove 21 yards in six plays and were also forced to punt. But the Titans pulled out a fake punt play out of a strange formation, and backup quarterback Billy Volek hit Eddie Berlin for a 50-yard touchdown pass that stunned the Panthers and the home crowd. Less than seven minutes into the game, the Titans led 14-0.

"It was a fake punt and a sprint-out pass," said Fox. "(Berlin) ran in the flat and he outran everybody to the goal line. We didn't do a very good job. It wasn't a surprise. We knew it was coming and had a play called to stop them."

The Panthers lost three yards on their next possession and punted to the Titans again. Tennessee drove 22 yards to set up a 40-yard Gary Anderson field goal that made it 17-0 Tennessee just 10 minutes into the game. Carolina was forced to abandon its run-first philosophy at that point, and the Panthers never got closer than 17 points the rest of the game.

	Steve Smith scored on a 67-yard pass from Delhomme, and racked up 151 yards on 10 receptions. (AP Photo)

Jake Delhomme completed 31 of 49 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, and Steve Smith caught 10 passes for 151 yards and a 67-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for the Panthers, it wasn't enough to overcome four fumbles.

"When you are down 14-0 and then 27-3 at halftime, we pretty much aborted the run at that point," said Fox. "Time was running out with that big of a differential. Basically, we didn't try to run the ball in the second half."

Stephen Davis was held to 20 yards rushing on just 11 carries. DeShaun Foster added 10 yards on two carries. Carolina rushed for just 44 yards on 17 carries as a team.

The Panthers will face division rival New Orleans at the SuperDome next Sunday. It will mark the second time in four games they have played the Saints, having defeated them 19-13 at Ericsson Stadium on October 5.

"It's a loss," said Fox. "How we respond to it, we'll wait and see. I think our team understands that we didn't play well enough to win today. When you turn the ball over four times and give up two plays in the kicking game, you are not going to beat a good football team. It is what it is and we need to move on."

In other words, the Panthers need to forget the Titans and focus on the rematch with the Saints.