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The Carolina Panthers' 28-19 victory Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons came at a cost.
Jordan Gross, the Panthers' Pro Bowl left tackle, broke his right ankle and is expected to miss the rest of the season. The injury happened with 5 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first half after it appeared a Falcons player fell on Gross's ankle.
"It hurts, not only for the football player, but the man," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said of Gross's injury. "Jordan is special; he's a leader."
It's the second time in two seasons that Gross has been injured in a game against the Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Last year, he suffered a concussion and missed one game – the first he would sit out in six seasons in the NFL.
Travelle Wharton, who plays alongside Gross at left guard, moved over to Gross's spot on Sunday. Second-year guard Mackenzy Bernadeau played in Wharton's place.
"All kinds of emotions go into it when you see someone down," said Wharton. "You just keep playing. For us, it's 'I'll give him a call in a few minutes,' but you keep playing."
Notes Gross wasn't the only front-line player to go down with an injury. Falcons running back Michael Turner, who had 111 yards on nine carries in the first half, left the game with a high ankle sprain and didn't return.
Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers played mostly on passing downs because of a hand injury he suffered last week against New Orleans. And receiver Steve Smith hurt his ribs on a touchdown catch in the second quarter. He went to the locker room before halftime, but returned and played the second half.
The Panthers' John Kasay has now had two field goals blocked in a season for the first time since 1995. Atlanta's Chauncey Davis swatted away Kasay's 51-yard attempt in the third quarter. Kasay had one blocked earlier this season against Tampa Bay.
Kick returner Mike Goodson was inactive and was replaced by another rookie, Tyrell Sutton. But Sutton didn't get a chance to return even one kick, as all five by Atlanta's Michael Koenen sailed deep enough into the end zone that all Sutton could do was take a knee for a touchback.
On each kick, Sutton was waved back by up-back Dante Rosario.
"I started saying to Dante, 'Stop giving me this!' " Sutton said, pushing his arms forward in a "whoa" motion. "And, 'Start giving me this!' "
Sutton then wind-milled his arms in a "let's go" motion.
"We won, so I can't really complain," said Sutton. "But I did expect to get at least one."
The Panthers' Rhys Lloyd also booted all five of his kickoffs into the end zone, but the Falcons' Eric Weems brought one of them out from 2 yards deep, taking it the Panthers 26. Lloyd entered the game leading the NFL in touchback percentage and end-zone percentage.
Other inactives for the Panthers: Safety Charles Godfrey, fullback Brad Hoover, tackle Garry Williams, guard Duke Robinson, defensive end Hilee Taylor and defensive tackle Nick Hayden. A.J. Feeley was the third (emergency) quarterback.
Falcons' inactives were offensive tackle Sam Baker, running back Jerious Norwood, safety Charlie Peprah, linebacker Spencer Adkins, tackle Garrett Reynolds, receiver Brian Finneran and defensive tackle Trey Lewis. John Parker Wilson was the No. 3 (emergency) quarterback.
By the numbers
0: Interceptions thrown by Panthers QB Jake Delhomme in past three games.
13: Interceptions thrown by Delhomme in first five games.
7: Tackles by LB Landon Johnson, who started in place of injured Thomas Davis.
0: Sacks in the game.
Quoting "My timing was just kind of a mess from the start." – Falcons kicker Jason Elam, on his 34-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter with Atlanta trailing 21-19.
"Luckily, they have the same problems." – Panthers coach John Fox on the Miami Dolphins, Carolina's opponent Thursday who will also play after a short week.
"We ran that when I was in college, so … I was ready for that." – Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart on Carolina's no-huddle offense.
