I wanted to slice that down to the 10 plays that shaped the Panthers' 12-4 regular season -- a remarkable year that earned them a first-round playoff bye and a Saturday-night home playoff date with Arizona.

For help, I asked for input from a blue-ribbon three-man panel: Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, running back DeAngelo Williams and linebacker Jon Beason.

Their comments on some of the plays that made my final cut can be found below. So let's count 'em down, from the 10th-most important play of the 2008 season to the most significant one of all.

10. Charles Godfrey SNIFFS OUT FAKE FIELD GOAL. Just before halftime in the first Panthers-Arizona game Oct.26, the Cardinals lined up for a field goal. Godfrey, a rookie, thought Arizona might try a fake after a timeout. And the Cardinals did. The pass fooled almost everyone and would have worked for a TD to put Arizona ahead 17-3. Instead, Godfrey made a sure tackle to stop the play 5 yards short of a first down.

"That one really stands out to me," Williams said. "Charles Godfrey saves a touchdown, and we end up winning by four."

9. STEWART BREAKS FOUR TACKLES. It was a nondescript play in a huge game. In the first quarter of the Panthers' season finale against New Orleans, rookie Jonathan Stewart ran 16 yards on a second-and-9 to the New Orleans 32.

The way Stewart did it, though, was awesome. He broke four tackles, bowling through several Saints. After the play, scattered boos rained down in the Superdome on the home team.

Although Stewart had more significant runs this season -- he scored 10 TDs after all -- this one is a locker-room favorite because of the testosterone factor. Offensive tackle Jordan Gross and the rest of the O-line loved it.

8. PEPPERS STRIPS SHOCKEY. In the first game against New Orleans, on Oct.19, Julius Peppers tomahawked the ball away from New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey and Carolina recovered. At the time, New Orleans was ahead, 7-3. After that play, Carolina scored 27 straight points to win 30-7.

As Beason described it: "Just a great effort play. Chasing that ball from the other side of the field, getting over there, stripping the ball with reckless abandon. And to see Pep get excited -- that was just great, because he's such a calm guy. It just made everybody else happy. The Saints were truly a great offense. We played great and held them to seven points. That allowed us to know we could play with anybody."

7. DEANGELO BREAKS ONE AGAINST BRONCOS. Williams (who didn't vote for this play, nor any other one involving himself) scored a staggering 20 TDs this season. That led the NFL.

Everyone has a favorite Williams run. I picked this one because he scored, he went for 56 yards (showing his speed) and he put the game away (by increasing a 20-10 Carolina lead to 27-10 in the third quarter).

6. KASAY MISSES POTENTIAL GAME-WINNER VS. NEW YORK Giants. Hey, not every big play is a positive, even for a 12-4 playoff team.

Carolina would be the No.1 seed in the playoffs, not No.2, if kicker John Kasay had converted this very difficult 50-yard field goal into the swirling night winds of Giants Stadium.

Instead, Kasay missed, the game went into overtime and the Giants won, 34-28. Thus, a possible rematch Jan.18 in the NFC Championship game would be in Giants Stadium, not in Charlotte.

5. KASAY REDEEMS HIMSELF. The very next week, Kasay found himself in almost the exact same situation. With the clock reading 0:06, he needed to make a 42-yard field goal. If he missed, Carolina would fall to a wild-card spot.

Instead, Kasay drilled it, and Carolina edged New Orleans, 33-31. Carolina got a week off and a home playoff game and cemented this team's reputation for winning most of the close ones.

"You dubbed us the 'Cardiac Cats' a few years ago, right?" Kasay said afterward in Carolina's ecstatic locker room. "I think you can pull out the hats and T-shirts and get ready for the ride."

4. BEASON INTERCEPTS Kurt Warner. Beason didn't vote for this play, but it was huge. Carolina had all sorts of trouble stopping Warner the first time Carolina played Arizona. Warner ended up throwing for 381 yards. In 49 attempts, this was Warner's one real mistake -- a high ball that the Pro Bowler Beason picked off in the fourth quarter to help clinch Carolina's 27-23 win.

3. SMITH DOES THE LAMBEAU LEAP. With Carolina trailing Green Bay 31-28 late in the fourth quarter in blustery Wisconsin weather, Delhomme looked at Steve Smith in the huddle and said, "Don't stop running."

Smith then out-leaped two Packers for a stunning 54-yard catch in which he somehow latched onto the back half of the Football. The catch took Carolina to the Green Bay 1, where Williams scored and the Panthers ultimately escaped with a victory.

2. SMITH DOES IT AGAIN FOUR WEEKS LATER. Against New Orleans in the season finale, Smith did practically the same thing he did in Green Bay. Again, Carolina trailed late. Again, No.89 beat two defenders on a jump ball. Again, a road crowd was silenced.

Only the details were different. This time, the catch was for 39 yards. The player who ultimately scored the winning points was Kasay with a field goal, not Williams with a TD. But make no mistake, Carolina doesn't win either of those games without Smith.

1. ROSARIO'S TOUCHDOWN CATCH. This play is a clear No.1. Beason, Williams and Delhomme voted for it. I vote for it. Shoot, everyone votes for it.

In the Panthers' season opener at San Diego, Delhomme threw a 14-yard dart to tight end Dante Rosario on the game's final play to shock the Chargers, 26-24.

Lots of things almost went wrong. Delhomme bobbled the snap. His pass was tipped. And yet Rosario -- who wouldn't score another TD all season -- held on.

"The snap was high and to the left," Delhomme said. "Usually, if you have a bad snap or a bobble, it's 'Where's my check-down [receiver]?' You don't want to make something worse. But on that play, I knew I had to get it in the end zone."

Said Williams: "Biggest play of the year. Dante Rosario, back of the end zone. That's No.1."

Said Beason: "What's amazing about that play -- the year we went to the Super Bowl, I'm told, we won on the last play of the first game just like that [in 2003 vs. Jacksonville]. That's amazing. I'm a big believer in fate. It has to be meant to be, you know? You do your job and you hope fate is on your side. It was that day. That started it all."

Scott Fowler: 704-358-5140; sfowler@charlotteobserver.com

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