Washington - onathan Stewart scored on a 2-yard run late in the first half to give the Carolina Panthers a 10-3 halftime lead against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. Stewart's run capped Carolina's best first-half drive in a matchup of the top teams in the NFC South and answered Matt Bryant's tying field goal. Much of that 73-yard drive came on the ground, with Carolina running on six of seven plays before Stewart pushed into the end zone on the right side with 1:56 left in the second. DeAngelo Williams also carried four times on the drive, including a 40-yarder up the middle that made him just the third player in franchise history to run for 1,000 yards in a season. He also had a key 4-yard run on third down in which he shook off a backfield hit from Derrick Brooks, setting up Carolina with a first-and-goal at the 9.

John Kasay kicked a 33-yard field goal in the first quarter for the Panthers, and Williams had 63 yards rushing in the opening half.

Two of the most overlooked contenders in the NFL took center stage as the NFC South got a rare night in the spotlight. While much of the talk in the conference had focused on the strength of the East, Carolina and Tampa Bay, both 9-3, were leading a less-glamorous division that includes much-improved Atlanta (8-5) and high-scoring New Orleans (7-6).

A win would allow either the Buccaneers or the Panthers to tie Pittsburgh for the third-best record in the NFL.

Tampa Bay won the first meeting 27-3 in October, handing Carolina its worst loss of the season. In that game, the Buccaneers shut down the Panthers' running game, intercepted three Delhomme passes and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

This time, however, the early special teams break went to Carolina. Tampa Bay drove to Carolina's 22 late in the quarter, but Bryant's 40-yard field goal hit the left upright and bounced back into the end zone with 14 seconds left in the first.

Tampa Bay had a chance for more, using an interception from Ronde Barber to turn away a Panthers drive that reached the Bucs' 28-yard line early in the second quarter. Then came a 52-yard heave from Jeff Garcia to Antonio Bryant - who was about 5 yards behind defender Richard Marshall - that got the Bucs to the 2.

But the Bucs couldn't cross the goal line, with Thomas Davis breaking up Garcia's pass for Jerramy Stevens in the back of the end zone on third down to set up Bryant's 20-yard kick that tied it.

Garcia completed 10 of 15 passes for 120 yards in the half, and Delhomme went 6-for-10 for 69 yards and the pick. The teams went into the break virtually even in total offense, with Tampa Bay holding a 147-145 edge in yardage.



Written By AARON BEARD

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