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There's no good day to have a bad day, but it's certainly not in the season opener at home while the owner with extraordinary expectations is looking on with the former NFL commissioner by his side.
On the embarrassment scale, Carolina's 38-10 drubbing by Philadelphia at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday was of epic proportions.
It was easily the most convincing opening-day loss in the franchise's 15-year history, doubling the 14-point margins of defeat in 1997 and 2006.
Worse yet, the game left serious questions about whether Jake Delhomme is still a winning quarterback. His five-turnover performance was eerily similar to his six-turnover debacle the last time the Panthers played a game that counted – their 33-13 home playoff loss to Arizona eight months ago.
Delhomme, who threw four interceptions and fumbled once, was benched for the first time in his seven seasons with the Panthers for his performance.
He was hardly the lone culprit. His offensive line was ill-prepared to handle Philadelphia's relentless blitz packages, which produced five sacks.
Coach John Fox didn't make excuses for Delhomme's play, but was quick to point out that the line failed to adequately protect him.
“Everybody wants to blame Jake, but when you've got eight guys pouring in on you, it's hard to blame the quarterback,” said Fox.
“I think it's uncomfortable playing quarterback when you're getting sacked (and) knocked around.”
Fox used all three of his quarterbacks in a game that was almost as shocking as last season's playoff loss.
Josh McCown took over for Delhomme with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter, but lasted only until early in the fourth quarter. McCown was a victim of poor pass protection too, getting decked from behind and suffering knee and foot sprains, according to Fox.
Matt Moore, the emergency No.3 quarterback, played the rest of the way after McCown hobbled off the field.
The combined quarterback rating for the trio was 13.7, raising questions about whether the Panthers will try to sign a quarterback this week. One of the available free agents is former Carolina nemesis Jeff Garcia, cut recently by Oakland.
After the game, Fox stood by Delhomme as his starting quarterback, but not as emphatically as he has in the past.
“Obviously, I think we start back with Jake,” said Fox. “I think we've got to go back and evaluate what happened to us. Personally, after not seeing the tape, I don't think that's all Jake's fault.”
Delhomme was 7 of 17 passing for 73 yards. His first interception was thrown behind Steve Smith, the beginning of a day when his passes sometimes hit the ground and sometimes landed in Eagles' mitts.
Delhomme said he was frustrated and disappointed, but wasn't ready to give up his starting job.
“I'm not looking for the easy way out, (for the team to) play somebody else (so) I can sit on the sidelines and lick my wounds,” he said. “I'd love to be out there. I hope to be out there and I'm going to go back to work. That's me.”
But after committing 11 turnovers in his past seven quarters of play, does Delhomme still have his teammates' confidence?
Several offensive starters were asked that question Sunday, and while they said yes, they didn't do so overwhelmingly.
“It's hard to swallow, but I think we still trust Jake,” said fullback Brad Hoover. “At least, I feel that way.”
Smith said his relationship with Delhomme goes far beyond football.
“At a time like this, what he needs more than teammates is real friends and friendship,” said Smith.
Said receiver Muhsin Muhammad: “Jake is struggling right now. Obviously, he needs to look at himself and everybody else in this locker room needs to look at themselves, me included. What can we do to make ourselves better?
“I don't think that loss is only on Jake. We all contributed to that loss. It's a team sport.”
Smith said the offense played so poorly – “we (stunk)” – that it might not have succeeded against Independence High.
The Panthers' seven total turnovers, including an interception by Moore and a fumble by rookie running back Mike Goodson, tied a team single-game record.
On hand to witness it all was former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who sat next to team owner Jerry Richardson in Richardson's West end zone luxury box.
Carolina started off strong Sunday, driving 70 yards for a touchdown on its first offensive possession, resulting in an 11-yard touchdown run by DeAngelo Williams.
But even on that drive, Carolina struggled at times, committing three false start penalties and using two of its three first-half timeouts.
It got worse after that as the Eagles' blitzing defense poured it on.
After throwing a first-period interception, Delhomme fumbled early in the second quarter when the Eagles brought an all-out blitz. Trent Cole got the sack and caused the fumble, and Victor Abiamiri recovered the ball at the 2 and ran it in for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Delhomme was intercepted by Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown, who returned it to the Carolina 9.
It took Philadelphia only one play to score from there on a 9-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to tight end Brent Celek.
In between those two scores, Philadelphia scored on an 85-yard punt return by DeSean Jackson. It was the second longest punt return in Eagles history.
Philadelphia's offense also scored a second-quarter TD on a 74-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard run by Brian Westbrook.
Carolina's offense finally got a drive going again late in the first half, but it stopped short at the Eagles' 3 when Delhomme's third-down pass was batted down.
The Panthers settled for a John Kasay field goal with 1:42 remaining in the half, cutting Philadelphia's lead to 31-10.
Delhomme's Arizona-like meltdown continued in the third quarter, as he committed his fourth and fifth turnovers of the game, and then was replaced by McCown.
McNabb ran in for a 9-yard touchdown after Delhomme's third. McNabb suffered a cracked rib on the play when Carolina defensive linemen Damione Lewis and Tyler Brayton landed hard on him after he had crossed the goal line.
Based on television replays, the NFL might decide to look at the play to determine whether Lewis and Brayton made legal hits.
Already in a state of near-crisis, the Panthers travel to Atlanta next Sunday to play a strong Falcons team that has traditionally been tough for Carolina to beat at home.
