For Carolina Panthers fans, the term X-Clown brings back elated memories. Images of Steve Smith crossing the goal line, arms stretched wide fill their minds. Before the Panthers embark on their next playoff
journey, let’s take a look back at this scene from Panthers history.
The Scene
On January 10th, 2004, the then St. Louis Rams hosted the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The Rams were heavily favored and led by their Greatest Show on Turf offense that included current and likely Hall of Famers like Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, and Orlando Pace. The Rams were the NFC West division winners with a record of 12-4 and the second highest scoring offense in the NFL. As the NFC’s second overall seed, the Rams had a bye week during the Wild Card round. Meanwhile, the Panthers, who won the NFC South at 11-5, hosted and beat the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. The Panthers were largely led by a dominant defense which boasted players like Julius Peppers, Kris Jenkins, Dan Morgan, and Mike Minter.
The Script
The Rams took the opening kickoff and managed a field goal to take a quick 3-0 lead. From then, neither team had much success until the beginning of the second quarter, when the Rams were able to put together another field goal drive immediately following a Jake Delhomme interception. A Stephen Davis 65-yard run put the Panthers in a goal-to-go situation on the ensuing drive, which ended in a wild touchdown a few plays later. Delhomme fumbled while attempting a shovel pass, the fumble squirted into the endzone, and Muhsin Muhammad fell on it for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 7-6 lead. The Rams and Panthers ended the half by trading field goal drives, so the Panthers went into the break leading 10-9.
After the Panthers punted to open the second half, the Rams put together yet another field goal drive to take a 12-10 lead early in the third quarter. After that, the Panthers took over the game for a while. A long Jon Kasay field goal, followed by a medium Kasay field goal, followed by a Brad Hoover touchdown run meant the Panthers had a 23-12 lead. After that, Deon Grant intercepted Marc Bulger which had the chance to seal the game. Unfortunately, a missed Kasay field goal swung momentum back to the Rams. St. Louis marched down the field and scored a touchdown and two point conversion, putting the game at 23-20 in favor of the Panthers. A successful onside kick gave the Rams the ball again. After getting into the redzone, the Rams decided to play for the tie and kicked a field goal as time expired.
The Panthers had the first chance to win the game in overtime, with Kasay making a 40 yard field goal for the win. Unfortunately, the Panthers were flagged for delay of game, and Kasay’s longer kick was no good. The Rams then got into field goal range and attempted a long field goal that ended up short. The Panthers used the short field to get into Rams territory, but two sacks and a penalty pushed them out of field goal range. Ricky Manning Jr intercepted the ball on the ensuing Rams possession and the game went into the second overtime period. That was when it happened.
The Play
The first play of the second overtime saw the Panthers facing a 3rd and 14 at their own 31 yard line. The Panthers lined up under center in an empty set, two receivers right, Smith to the left, two tight ends both inline on the right side of the line. The route, nicknamed X-Clown because “we called it X-Clown to make the safety look like a clown” per head coach John Fox, was essentially a corner-post. The receiver breaks outside like a corner route to get the safety wide then breaks back inside like a post route. The Panthers had tried the play in practice for several weeks, but Delhomme and Smith couldn’t quite get the location and timing down. One of the main reasons was Smith flattening of the post portion of the route. Instead of a true 45 degree angle, he cut just a little bit sharper which lessened the depth of the route by a few yards. The play had worked earlier in the game for a 36-yard play in the fourth quarter. The play worked again here. Smith broke outside, getting Rams safety Jason Sehorn to turn his shoulders before cutting back inside. Again slightly altering the angle of the break, Smith flashed wide open for Delhomme. Delhomme took a five step drop, pump faked, stepped up, and fired a strike to Smith in stride. Smith caught the ball and turned up field, leaving the diving Sehorn in the dust. Smith cut back outside and was too fast for Rams safety Adam Archuleta to catch. 69 yards, touchdown, game over. Panthers win, and move on to the NFC Championship game, where they would on the road and beat the number one seed Philadelphia Eagles and earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
