CHARLOTTE - The second half of the season begins as the first half did for the Carolina Panthers – on the road Sunday against an AFC West opponent. In the season opening game, Carolina pulled out a last second 26-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers to propel the Panthers to a 6-2 record through eight games.

The Panthers are at Oakland this week and the Raiders promise to be another stiff challenge for Coach John Fox and his team.

“Playing on the road is difficult any time and there are not many places more difficult than the Coliseum,” says Fox.

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The Panthers last played October 26 when they rallied to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 behind the passing combination of Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith and the running of DeAngelo Williams.

It is an offensive formula that worked well during the first eight weeks as Delhomme compiled a quarterback rating of 88.7, Smith moved among the League leaders in receiving with 33 catches for 613 yards despite missing the first two games, and Williams rushed for 522 yards while sharing backfield duties with rookie Jonathan Stewart.

In returning from off-season elbow surgery, Delhomme has completed over 60 percent of his passes for nearly eight yards per attempt and thrown nine touchdowns and five interceptions, four of which have come off deflections.

Smith has compiled three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, with the most recent being a 117-yard, five catch, two touchdown performance against the Cardinals. One of those scores came on a 65-yard catch and run and his 18.6 yards per catch average is the best of his career. The 65-yard score against Arizona was the 49th touchdown of his career, which stretches his club career mark to three touchdowns ahead of wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

Muhammad has returned to Carolina after a three-year absence to catch a team-high 37 receptions, including five for 38 yards against Arizona.

His presence has also impacted a running game that saw Williams surpass the 100-yard mark against Arizona for the second time this season.

Williams gained 108 yards on 17 attempts versus the Cardinals and ignited the Panthers comeback from a 17-3 deficit with a 15-yard scoring run. He is bidding to join Stephen Davis and Anthony Johnson as only the third 1000-yard rushers in team history while sharing carries with Stewart, who has rushed for 362 yards and five touchdowns.
The Panthers offensive numbers have been impressive considering that the starting offensive line has played together for less than two quarters the entire season. Center Ryan Kalil and rookie Jeff Otah have missed the last three games with ankle injuries after starters Jordan Gross and Travelle Wharton missed time earlier.

In their last five games the Panthers have allowed two sacks of
Delhomme, but will face a Raiders pass rush that has accumulated 19 sacks. Sacks have been hard to come by for the Panthers, who have 13 in eight games.

Seven and a half of that total have come from defensive linemen Julius Peppers (four) and Charles Johnson (3.5) and it was Johnson who had both of the Panthers takedowns of Kurt Warner. The Cardinals threw 51 times against Carolina, but the Raiders offer a different offensive strength in a strong running game.

Similar to the offense, the Panthers defense offer modest stats against the run, ranking 14th. Middle linebacker Jon Beason keys the unit with a team high 81 tackles while safety Chris Harris anchors the secondary with his ball hawking skills.

If the game comes down to special teams, the Panthers rely on one of the NFL’s best kickers in John Kasay, who surpassed Jan Stenerud for eighth place in NFL history against Arizona with his 374th field goal. Kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd plays a big role in the Panthers kickoff coverage teams that rank third in the League while punter Jason Baker’s 38.2 net average plays a significant role in Carolina’s fourth ranked punt coverage unit.