• Originally published October 31, 2009 at 5:16 p.m., updated October 31, 2009 at 6:20 p.m.

By David Scott

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

As Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis trudged out of Bank of America Stadium last January, a peculiar feeling churned inside of him.

Earlier that day, the Panthers thought they were ready for a divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, cruising into the postseason on the wings of a 12-4 record and an NFC South championship.

Three hours later, that had all vanished, thanks to a 33-13 thrashing from the Cardinals.

"Sick," Davis said earlier this week, recalling how he felt afterward. "Extremely sick."

Little, if anything, went right for the Panthers that day. Everything, it seemed, clicked for the Cardinals, who went on to play in the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw five interceptions and fumbled once, the prelude to a slump he continues to fight deep into this season. Carolina's defense did little to stop Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who passed for 220 yards and a touchdown. That score went to receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who brutalized the Panthers secondary with eight receptions for 166 yards.

The loss began a slide from which the Panthers have yet to recover. The Panthers (2-4) get another shot at the Cardinals (4-2) on Sunday, when they play in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

"Whenever a team comes into your house and embarrasses you like that, you want to go back and play them better than you did the last time," said Davis.

The loss has haunted the Panthers, a team with what appeared to be legitimate Super Bowl aspirations last season. They haven't been able to shake it off, starting the season with three straight losses despite having 20 of 22 starters back.

"It probably makes me want to play even more," said Delhomme of facing the Cardinals again. "You want to go out and play them. By watching ... film, you learn by what we did decent and what we did not (do well) in the two times we played them last year."

The playoff victory helped the Cardinals turn a corner to unprecedented success for the franchise_an NFC championship game victory against the Philadelphia Eagles the following week, then the Super Bowl.

Until they beat the Panthers, Arizona had lost 17 of 19 games in the Eastern Time Zone. They won again on the East Coast last week, beating the New York Giants 24-17.

"Even last year, when we had good times and bad, I don't know if we ever believed we could go anywhere and play against anybody and beat anybody," Warner told reporters in Arizona this week. "I think that's what you've seen this year. Even though we haven't played great football all season long, you've seen us go on the road and win some games in tough environments."

That's what the Panthers will face on Sunday. The revenge factor is something that some players are relishing. Others caution against it.

"That's where we left off last year," said running back DeAngelo Williams. "To come back, to beat them and re-write something that hasn't been re-written in a long time, that would be awesome."

Said defensive end Julius Peppers: "Nobody should be thinking about anything that happened last year. That was last year. This is a new season. Right now we're just trying to get a win."

___

(c) 2009, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

Visit The Charlotte Observer on the World Wide Web at http://www.charlotte.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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