The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Carolina Panthers refused to talk any trash before their game against Tampa Bay. After beating the Super Bowl champions for the second time this season, they wouldn't shut up.

Jake Delhomme's 5-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith with 1:06 remaining overcame a late Tampa Bay rally and lifted the Panthers to a 27-24 victory Sunday in the matchup of two suddenly bitter rivals.

The victory silenced the Bucs (4-5) and dropped them three games behind the Panthers (7-2) in the NFC South, and Carolina holds the tiebreaker.

"I'll say it: I can't stand them," said defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. "When they pull on their red and we pull on our blue, it's like the Bloods and the Crips. They talk too much, they want to flash 'I'm a superstar.' Well, now that talk don't mean nothing.

"We beat them not once, but twice, and I'm going to celebrate while they go home to watch TV."

Defensive end Simeon Rice guaranteed a Buccaneers victory earlier this week, but the defending champions are now left with a rocky road ahead.

Still, not even their third division loss of the season - the Bucs lost to New Orleans last week - silenced Rice.

"There's going to be a guarantee next week, too, because that's me," Rice said. "No situation is going to break me."

Brad Johnson's 23-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Johnson made it 20-14 with 10:19 to play. On the next possession, facing fourth-and-1, Johnson dumped off an 18-yard pass to Warren Sapp to keep the drive alive.

Keenan McCardell then made a one-armed catch at the edge of the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown and a 21-20 Tampa Bay lead with 4:44 to play.

The Bucs seemed to put the game away when Delhomme was intercepted for the second time by Tim Wansley, who returned the first one 23 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Wansley set up Martin Gramatica's 39-yard field goal for a 24-20 lead.

Already playing without Stephen Davis, the NFC's leading rusher, the Panthers had to rely on Delhomme and a suspect passing game to win it.

Delhomme stayed calm, throwing a 29-yard pass to Ricky Proehl and then holding steady in a quickly collapsing pocket to throw a 22-yarder to Muhsin Muhammad as he was getting hit.

As both teams hurried back to the line, Delhomme quickly hit Smith on the edge of the end zone. Smith was in the air when he made the catch and was flipped over the line by a defender for the go-ahead score.

Delhomme finished 20-for-32 for 277 yards with two touchdowns - he also threw a 66-yarder to Proehl - and two interceptions. Proehl finished with three catches for 133 yards.

Falcons 27, Giants 7

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Atlanta Falcons got coach Dan Reeves his 200th win on a day the New York Giants may have put coach Jim Fassel's job in jeopardy.

Warrick Dunn ran for 178 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown, and the Falcons (2-7) snapped a seven-game losing streak by defeating the mistake-prone Giants 27-7 Sunday.

"It's great," Reeves said after becoming the sixth NFL coach to reach the 200-win plateau (200-171-2). "But when you've lost seven in a row, it was all about trying get them win No. 2.

The Giants (4-5) desperately needed the win to stay in the playoff hunt but turned the ball over four times in ending their two-game winning streak while enraging their fans.

A chant of "Fire Fassel" echoed through Giants Stadium in the waning seconds of the third quarter.

"I can understand the fans being upset," Fassel said. "I am upset. I don't like it. I knew that was what I was going to get when I came here if I didn't do well."

The Falcons won because they ran for 216 yards and won the turnover battle.

Dunn scored on a 45-yard run on the Falcons' first possession and had five carries for 38 yards. T.J. Duckett scored on runs of 1 and 12 yards for the Falcons, still missing injured quarterback Michael Vick.

Dorsey Levens had a 2-yard second-quarter TD run for the Giants, who are now 1-4 at home.

"If you're not embarrassed by what we did today, you shouldn't be here," Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said. "I am embarrassed. I'm embarrassed by what we didn't do. I am embarrassed for us and embarrassed for the freakin' fans and for anybody sitting at home watching. I am embarrassed for people who aren't even Giants fans who had to watch because they couldn't get anyone else on the TV. It was freakin' horrible."

Lions 12, Bears 10

DETROIT - Jason Hanson's right foot gave Detroit consecutive wins for the first time in three years.

Hanson's 48-yard field goal - his fourth of the game - with 39 seconds left lifted the Lions Sunday. Corey Harris' diving interception at Detroit's 37 sealed the win for the Lions (3-6).

The Lions have won two straight for the first time since winning three in a row under Gary Moeller, who now coaches Chicago's linebackers.

The Bears (3-6) had a chance to win three straight for the first time in two years and to end a road-losing streak that now stands at 12 games.

Joey Harrington was 24-of-38 for 238 yards, and Chicago's Chris Chandler was 16-of-28 for 149 yards and a TD.

Redskins 27, Seahawks 20

LANDOVER, Md. - Steve Spurrier benched himself, and it worked.

The Washington Redskins' coach let someone else call the plays for a change and the result ended a four-game losing streak.

Spurrier handed the duties to offensive coordinator Hue Jackson.

But Spurrier made the two biggest calls himself. The game-winning score came when receiver Rod Gardner took a lateral and threw a 10-yard pass to a wide open Trung Canidate with 1:57 to play. Spurrier also went for a fourth-and-inches at his own 25 on the game-winning drive with the score tied.

The victory will calm - at least for a week - the turmoil surrounding Spurrier's future. Spurrier and owner Dan Snyder have been vilified in the national media this week for the downturn of the Redskins (4-5).

The Seahawks (6-3) blew a 14-3 first-half lead, and fell to 1-3 on the road.

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