As ugly as it was, what transpired at Bank of America stadium Saturday night was no nightmare. It represented what the Carolina Panthers are at their core.

For proof, think back to September 2007, same stadium. The Panthers jump out to a 14-0 lead over Houston behind Jake Delhomme — then surrender 31 straight points to the Texans. The defense had no answer for big, fast WR Andre Johnson and the offense sputtered into the second half trying to respond, giving up 3 TOs in the process. Sound familiar?

Then we have then Oakland game this year. The Raiders resolved to take #89 away from Jake, he freaked out and sprayed the ball all over the field. And don’t forget the loss in Minnesota, triggered by a strip of Jake in the pocket, a resulting TD — only slightly quicker than the Cards’ short-field TD after another strip — and a subsequent abandonment of the running game by Carolina. Against the Vikes Double Trouble rushed the ball 17 times while Jake threw 29 times.

And what happened with 5:28 left in the first half last night defined Carolina’s lack of trust in itself. When the game situation demanded that the Panthers line up and smash the ball down the field to close a doable 20-7 deficit and change momentum, what did the Panthers order up? A deep pass between the hash marks that was picked, setting up the Cards’ nail-in-the-coffin score. Understand that to that point Jonathan Stewart had carried the ball exactly twice, one of which was a 10-yard TD run.

There are your Carolina Panthers, ladies and gents. Get used to them because without a 1st round pick next year, they ain’t gonna change anytime soon. Folks can bray for someone under center besides #17, but that is just a symptom of the problem. I’ve said all season long that the OC and DC slots are not filled with championship-level talent. I do not see how anyone can dispute that now.

One more stat should prove that beyond all doubt. With the entire building knowing that Larry Fitzgerald had to get the ball, he goes for 8 and 166 and a TD. With the entire building knowing that Steve Smith had to get the ball, he is shutout until the game is out of reach.

Enjoy the off-season and bless the hearts of any new PSL owners.

Bonus Observation: I was clearly wrong about Ken Whisenhut. He did not play it safe and instead resolved to get the ball downfield to Fitzgerald early and often. On defense, the Cards were not afraid to have a rookie in press coverage against #89, taking away Jake’s beloved smoke route, a security blanket he often used to steady his game. If — if — they stay focused, Arizona will not be a pushover in the conference title game.