SAN DIEGO — Their eyes met — the tight end under the goal posts and the quarterback who was moving up in the pocket, trying to keep the play alive.

Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers? Oh no, try Jake Delhomme and Dante Rosario of the Carolina Panthers.

Delhomme came back from an elbow injury with the kind of impact the San Diego Chargers won't soon forget, throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Rosario as time expired to lift the underdog Carolina Panthers to a shocking 26-24 win yesterday.

When he saw the ball in Rosario's hands, Delhomme felt as if he were replicating one of the most famous celebration scenes in sports history.

"I didn't know what to do. I think I ran around like Jim Valvano," he said, referring to the late North Carolina State basketball coach's reaction to the Wolfpack's upset of Houston in the 1983 national championship game.

"I started to run to go jump on him, and I'm just kind of in awe," Delhomme said. "Then you hear the ref blowing the whistle, so I'm like, 'Oh, did something happen?' But it was for the PAT. ... It was just elation."

For Delhomme, it was a nice return after missing the final 13 games of 2007 with an elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery.

"Oh man, I don't know how to put in words. Let's be honest," Delhomme said. "Games like this, they don't happen often. This ranks for me, I promise you."

After Rivers rallied San Diego with his third TD pass, Delhomme ran the 2-minute drill to perfection, moving the Panthers from their 32-yard line to the San Diego 14. Carolina called its final timeout with 2 seconds left.

The winning play is known as 74 Rocket — as in, "rocket, let's go," Delhomme explained. Five receivers flooded into the end zone. Wanting to move a safety and hit a receiver on a seam, Delhomme pump-faked, then stepped up in the pocket.

"It's great to have Jake back and you can tell that our offense is operating. Guys want to follow him," Rosario said.

Delhomme was 8 of 11 for 68 yards on the final drive, and finished 23 of 41 for 247 yards.

MORE INTERLEAGUE

Bears 29, Colts 13: Rookie running back Matt Forte ran for 123 yards and one touchdown, and Kyle Orton committed no turnovers to help visiting Chicago beat Indianapolis in the first regular-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Two-time league MVP Peyton Manning was 30 of 49 for 257 yards for Indianapolis. It was his first game action since having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee in July.

Bills 34, Seahawks 10: Roscoe Parrish scored on a 63-yard punt return, and punter Brian Moorman completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to defensive end Ryan Denney on a fake field goal, sparking host Buffalo to a dominating win. As if that wasn't enough, kicker Rian Lindell recovered a fumble on a kickoff, setting up Trent Edwards' 30-yard touchdown pass to Robert Royal.

Cowboys 28, Browns 10: Terrell Owens caught a 35-yard touchdown pass, Tony Romo effortlessly picked apart Cleveland's secondary, and Marion Barber scored on a pair of 1-yard runs for visiting Dallas. Romo completed 24 of 32 passes for 320 yards, and Dallas' offense controlled the clock and strung together four long touchdown drives.

AFC

Steelers 38, Texans 17: Willie Parker ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns, and a near-perfect Ben Roethlisberger threw two scoring passes to Hines Ward for host Pittsburgh. Parker showed no loss of speed or cutback ability from the broken right leg that ended his 2007 season in the Steelers' next-to-last game, when he was leading the NFL in rushing. Roethlisberger missed on only one of 14 passing attempts until being lifted after three quarters.

Titans 17, Jaguars 10: Tennessee sacked David Garrard seven times and Cortland Finnegan intercepted him twice in a win over visiting Jacksonville. Jacksonville came in without top backup Richard Collier on the offensive line after he was shot earlier this week. The Jaguars had three more linemen get hurt, and Maurice Williams and Vince Manuwai, a former Farrington High and University of Hawai'i standout, did not return.

Jets 20, Dolphins 14: Brett Favre's new beginning with visiting New York had a happy ending thanks to two late stands by the Jets' defense. Dwight Lowery batted away a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 9 minutes left, and Darrelle Revis intercepted Chad Pennington — again in the end zone — with 5 seconds left. Favre, formerly of Green Bay, finished 15 for 22 for 194 yards.

Ravens 17, Bengals 10: Baltimore forced two turnovers and limited visiting Cincinnati to 154 yards to make John Harbaugh a winner in his debut as an NFL coach. Cincinnati's Carson Palmer was 10 for 25 for 99 yards, while Ravens rookie Joe Flacco completed 15 of 29 passes for 129 yards.

NFC

Cardinals 23, 49ers 13: Kurt Warner passed for 197 yards and led three monotonously effective drives in the second half for visiting Arizona. Anquan Boldin had all of his eight catches for 82 yards in the second half of the Cardinals' third straight opener against the 49ers, who beat them twice last year to ruin their playoff hopes. J.T. O'Sullivan passed for 195 yards in his first NFL start for the 49ers.

Saints 24, Buccaneers 20: Drew Brees passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns, giving fans already jubilant about the Saints' quick return from Hurricane Gustav a triumph to celebrate as well. Brees' scoring passes went for 39 yards to David Patten, 84 to Devery Henderson and 42 to Reggie Bush, with Bush's score putting the Saints in the lead for good in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia was 24 of 41 for 221 yards, including a 2-yard TD pass to Ike Hilliard, which gave the Bucs a brief 20-17 lead.

Eagles 38, Rams 3: Donovan Mc-Nabb threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and rookie DeSean Jackson had an impressive debut for host Philadelphia. McNabb was 21 for 33, including a 90-yard TD pass to Hank Baskett. Jackson, the first Eagles rookie wide receiver to start a season opener in 18 years, had six catches for 106 yards and returned a punt 60 yards to set up a field goal.

Falcons 34, Lions 21: Matt Ryan threw for a touchdown with his very first NFL pass and Michael Turner set a team rushing record in his debut for host Atlanta. Ryan, a rookie from Boston College, electrified the crowd with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins before many fans had settled in their seats. Turner rumbled for 220 yards and two touchdowns.