The Carolina Panthers not only lost their game on Sunday, but they also lost their composure on the last drive of the game.

That didn't sit well with coach Ron Rivera, who said Monday in a news conference that he was "embarrassed" by Carolina's 30-3 loss to Tennessee. His comments echo almost exactly what I thought of the last couple of minutes, so most of this column will be devoted to letting Rivera talk.

"Oh absolutely, I was embarrassed," Rivera said. "I really was. I was embarrassed with the penalties. I was embarrassed the last 21/2 minutes of the game, the way it went."

When I asked what he meant by that, Rivera said: "Well, I think all the chippiness that went on between both teams. You know when a game is in that situation, just play it out. Don't start talking. If you're winning, great. If you're losing, stop being frustrated. Do your job. And it goes for both teams. And I don't want to speak for coach (Mike) Munchak (of Tennessee), but I think both teams got chippy at the end."

Certainly, Tennessee was to blame as well. The Panthers were called for four penalties on the final drive (a false start, two holding calls and a personal foul) and Tennessee got two. Both of the Titans' personal fouls were for unnecessary roughness. All of the flags irritated Rivera.

"To me, this is professional football," Rivera continued. "Act like a professional on the football field whether you're winning or you're losing. And that really bothers me. It really does. Because this game is about competition and competing and being the best, it's not about all that other stuff that goes on. That's a bunch of bull. It really is. There should be more pride in winning and losing than I saw yesterday from both teams."

On the final penalty - a holding call against Steve Smith - a scuffle broke out that involved Smith and several other players from both teams. Rivera then pulled Smith out of the game for the final play.

"I just think Steve was frustrated, as was everybody else," Rivera said. "Steve went to make a physical block, the guy reacted and they got into a little bit of a skirmish. I just wanted to alleviate the situation. I'd have done that to anybody at that point.

"I did that with Charles (Johnson) when Charles got his penalty (earlier in the game). After being head-butted, the referees didn't see the head butt, they got him (Johnson). ... We can't have that on the football field. And I hope our guys understand why I asked them to come off the field."

The Panthers were penalized 12 times for 99 yards and remain among the NFL's league leaders in all the "most-penalized" categories.

Rivera said he could "live with" Jordan Gross' personal foul just before Smith's penalty. Gross was retaliating for Tennessee's William Hayes hitting center Ryan Kalil in the back while Cam Newton scrambled and knocking Kalil down.

"We did have an incident where one of our players did get hit from behind and another player defended him," Rivera said. "Those things I can live with. The other ones I don't. Those are the things I disagree with."

The coach is right. It was ridiculous, really, that the Panthers and Titans were playing that sort of football when the score was already 30-3, the stands were almost empty and the drive was meaningless.

A month ago, Rivera praised the Panthers for defending Smith when he slowed down while entering the end zone against New Orleans. Saints safety Roman Harper hit Smith late, after he was clearly in the end zone, drawing a flag (and a $15,000 fine). Smith's teammates ran en masse to the end zone to defend him and another skirmish broke out.

"That was different," Rivera said. "That was defending yourself, OK? What happened yesterday really just got chippy. I think what happened there was a couple of shots that were taken during the game and as we got frustrated we retaliated for those.

"At that point, you keep your composure. If it's a prolonged thing, Mike Ditka used to say if you're not happy with the guy (across from you), line up the next play and whip him."

The Panthers, though, rarely whipped anybody Sunday. It was the most miserable performance of the season by Carolina (2-7) - the first time the Panthers were not in the game in the fourth quarter.

That was bad enough. The extra-curricular activity in the last two minutes only made it worse.