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Carolina Panthers kicker Rhys Lloyd prevented what might have been a touchdown when he tackled the Arizona Cardinals' LaRod Stephens-Howling after a 53-yard return during the fourth quarter of the Panthers' 34-21 victory Sunday.
That earned Lloyd - who missed a tackle two weeks ago against Tampa Bay, whiffing on the Buccaneers' Sammie Stroughter as he returned one for a touchdown - a grudging compliment from coach John Fox on Monday.
"It was effective," said Fox of Lloyd's tackle. "It was an improvement over our last effort. He got up in one piece, too, which was good."
Lloyd, incidentally, booted six of his seven kickoffs into the end zone against the Cardinals, although Stephens-Howling brought three of them out.
Stephens-Howling averaged 31.5 yards per return, keeping the Panthers firmly entrenched in the 32nd (and last) spot in the league in that statistic.
Notes
Fox said he had nothing new to report on injuries sustained Sunday by quarterback Jake Delhomme and fullbacks Brad Hoover and Tony Fiametta.
Delhomme bruised his chest during the third quarter, eventually leaving the game and going to a hospital. He said a CT scan didn't reveal any internal injuries and expected to play next Sunday against New Orleans.
Hoover, who had missed two games with back spasms, sprained his right ankle against the Cardinals. Fiametta has a head injury.
Fox won't have any kind of update on those or other injuries (including receiver Muhsin Muhammad's knee, tight end Dante Rosario's knee and safety Charles Godfrey's ankle) until Wednesday.
Fox didn't say if the Panthers would need to sign a fullback this week if Hoover and Fiametta remain injured. He said tight ends Gary Barnidge and Jeff King filled in at that spot Sunday when the two fullbacks were knocked out of the game.
Injuries elsewhere also forced other players to fill in at unfamiliar spots, such as safety Chris Harris on the punt return team.
"A lot of guys stepped in and did things they weren't normally accustomed to," said Fox. "They did a good job."
With the Saints and quarterback Drew Brees on their horizon, the Panthers still have the NFL's top-rated pass defense (160.6 yards per game) after holding Arizona's Kurt Warner to 242 yards.
Carolina's pass defense limited Warner to a 47.8 passer rating and intercepted him five times. The Panthers also are now ranked seventh in the league in overall defense (288.1 yards per game). Carolina's five interceptions of Warner moved the Panthers from 23rd in the league in percentage of passes intercepted to sixth.
Arizona, which had the No.1 rush defense in the league before allowing the Panthers 270 yards, dropped to ninth in that department. The Cardinals were allowing 67.5 yards entering the game. That went out the window in one play, when DeAngelo Williams broke off a 77-yarder, the longest run in Panthers history.
Williams, who became the Panthers' all-time leading rusher with his 158 yards, is third in the league this season with 619 yards. He trails St. Louis' Steven Jackson and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, who are tied for first with 784 yards. The Panthers' Jonathan Stewart (360 yards) is 13th.
After forcing six turnovers, the Panthers moved from last in the league in turnover ratio (minus-8) to tied for 28th with Tennessee and Washington.
Some of these rankings might have changed after Monday night's game between the Saints and Atlanta Falcons.
