"Ryan came over to me and said, 'We're killing Smitty because he's texting like crazy.'" QB Jake Delhomme said after the game. "But I'm happy he was so into it and I promise you he has a smile on his face."

When asked if Smith had texted him yet, Delhomme said, "Probably, my phone is vibrating like crazy in my pocket."

--First-round pick Jonathan Stewart opened the game as Carolina's starting kick returner, a bit of a surprise since Stewart hadn't returned any kickoffs during the preseason. Stewart might have shown some rust when he mishandled one kickoff.

"I have been practicing kickoffs but I didn't really know I was starting until just before we left North Carolina," Stewart said. "It gets your adrenaline flowing."

Although some first-round picks might object to returning kickoffs, Stewart embraces the opportunity.

"You play football. I'm not a prima donna or nothing, so whatever the teams needs I will go out there and do it," said Stewart, who averaged 21 yards per return.

Mark Jones returned punts.

He nearly gave Fox a heart attack when he made the mistake of making a late decision to avoid fielding a punt, only to have it hit off his back heel and roll into the end zone. Lucky for Jones, teammate Quinton Teal hopped on the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

--The Panthers seemed in control until Antoine Cason dislodged the ball from new receiver D.J. Hackett on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter and teammate Shaun Phillips recovered at the Carolina 28-yard line. If the Panthers had converted that first down they could have almost run out the entire clock and taken a knee.

Instead, the Chargers went on to score the go-ahead touchdown and the crowd really came alive.

"He made a good hit on the side of my helmet and I was a little woozy for a quick second," said Hackett. "I kind of let go a little bit and when I did I realized it was too late. You always feel bad when you have a turnover, but you remember it more when it happens late in the game. But we win and lose as a team."

Lucky for Hackett, Jake Delhomme had one more trick up his sleeve.

--Some might question Fox's decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the Chargers' 1-yard line early in the game, but you have to like the call even though the play-action pass failed. The Panthers were driving and had the momentum.

"I think when you're on the road against a good football team sometimes you have to take risks," Fox said. "Obviously, like any coach, when you get to make a call after the play I would have done something different. It was an aggressive call. We were all on board with it and it just didn't work out."

Fullback Brad Hoover said afterward he liked the decision to go for it, but wishes it had been a different play call.

"I would like to see us run it there in that situation," Hoover said. "If we're going to be a physical football team I think that is where we should go. But being on the road, we have nothing to lose. We have to go for it."

--The Panthers did well against the league's best rusher, holding Tomlinson to 97 yards. They had only one sack -- although Julius Peppers somehow missed one easy one - but it was very good effort overall.

The Chargers finished with 316 total yards.

"We didn't really shut them down," Peppers said. "Late in the game they got a couple of plays in there on us scoring twice on us. We have to tighten that up. But overall we did pretty well. That was a good test for us and I think we did well against them."