--OG Travelle Wharton will have his knee examined on Monday. Wharton injured it in the first half and left the game. He returned in the second half, but only played a series and then left again for good. Despite Wharton's absence the Panthers ran for 142 yards.

--OG Geoff Hangartner replaced Travelle Wharton when he went down with a knee injury and the Panthers didn't miss a beat.

--OT Jeff Otah hyperextended his knee in the first half but did return and said he's fine.

--CB Chris Gamble scored Carolina's first defensive touchdown of the season when he picked up an Antonio Gates fumble and rumbled 31 yards for a score. The fumble was caused by Chris Harris, who set a team record with eight forced fumbles last season.

--QB Jake Delhomme engineered his 14th fourth-quarter or overtime comeback against the Chargers by hitting tight end Dante Rosario for a touchdown in the back of the end zone with no time left on the clock.

--WR D.J. Hackett started for Steve Smith (suspended) and had a costly fumble late in the game that led to a go-ahead touchdown for the Chargers.

REPORT CARD VS. CHARGERS

PASSINGF OFFENSE: B-minus -- Up until the final touchdown pass, QB Jake Delhomme struggled in the red zone and the Panthers settled for four John Kasay field goals. But don't forget, he's without his favorite weapon in Steve Smith. Delhomme still threw for 247 yards and a score and showed great poise on the final drive and has found a new weapon in tight end Dante Rosario, who had 96 yards on seven catches. Smith's absence may wind up being a blessing in disguise because it made the Panthers realize the weapon they have in Rosario. Dwayne Jarrett kind of flew under the radar with everything that happened, but he came up with two big catches for 36 yards.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B-plus -- The Panthers pledged to run the ball this season come hell or high water and they did just that on Sunday, gaining 142 yards on 29 carries. At 4.9 yards per clip, that's pretty good, especially considering two of their starting offensive linemen were in and out of the lineup. As expected, DeAngelo Williams (18 carries for 86 yards) and Jonathan Stewart (10 carries for 53 yards) shared carries and both were effective. They did struggle running the ball inside the 10.

PASS DEFENSE: C-plus -- There is still some work to be done here. The Panthers allowed Philip Rivers to throw for 217 yards and two scores, one of them an easy 44-yard touchdown completion to a wide open Chris Chambers. Rookie safety Charles Godfrey was to blame on that play. Carolina managed just one sack. Chris Harris made a nice strip of Antonio Gates and Chris Gamble returned it 31 yards for a touchdown to help out Carolina's cause on defense.

RUSH DEFENSE: B -- Anytime you can hold LaDainian Tomlinson under 100 yards and out of the end zone you've done your job. Tomlinson had 97 yards on 22 carries and no touchdowns. All things considered, the Panthers' run defense answered the call Sunday. The Chargers longest run was 14 yards. They didn't let L.T. beat them.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- John Kasay converted all four field-goal attempts (44, 33, 30 and 49) and Rhys Lloyd had four touchbacks, so the kicking game was great. But the return game nearly made some costly blunders. Jonathan Stewart bobbled one kickoff and Mark Jones nearly made a colossal mistake when he allowed a punt to hit his foot, almost resulting in a Chargers touchdown.

COACHING: A -- The Panthers came to the West Coast and were prepared to play one of the AFC's best teams. To come away with the win in San Diego is a huge boost for this team. Carolina was a little sluggish early in the third quarter, but rebounded nicely. Now you know why coach John Fox is raving about having starting quarterback Jake Delhomme back.