"Exasperated, Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme put both hands on his helmet as he stood in the end zone and watched New Orleans defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove make the play that sunk the Panthers' upset attempt of the unbeaten Saints.

Trailing by three points with less than three minutes remaining Sunday at the Superdome, the Panthers started the play and the possession at their 2. Though they were 98 yards from a touchdown, there was hope of at least driving for a game-tying field goal.

Delhomme handed off to running back DeAngelo Williams, who had already scored two touchdowns.

This time, the ball was knocked out of Williams' grasp and Hargrove recovered it at the 1 and returned it for a touchdown.

"The first thing that went through my mind was, 'game over,'" said Delhomme.

"I mean, we didn't have any timeouts left and that was it."

The Panthers still managed another drive to the New Orleans 2 in the final minute, but got no points out of that possession and lost 30-20.

The win upped the Saints' record to 8-0, best in franchise history and tied with Indianapolis for tops in the NFL. It was New Orleans' first home win against Carolina since 2001, ending the perfect record against the Saints in Louisiana for Delhomme and coach John Fox.

The Panthers fell to 3-5 and missed an opportunity to come away with what had the potential to be a season-turning victory.

"We had our chances, but we blew it," said strong safety Chris Harris.

Making the defeat even more costly was the fact that arguably the Panthers' best player in the first half of the season, outside linebacker Thomas Davis, suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter.

For much of the game, Carolina looked primed to pull off the upset.

The Panthers scored first, led by 11 points at halftime and didn't trail until late in the fourth quarter.

But just as the Saints did earlier this season when they overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to beat Miami, they rode their big-play offense to victory.

Three long pass plays made all the difference in this game, completions of 45, 63 and 54 yards to different receivers by Drew Brees in a span of a little more than a quarter."