In Week 2 of 2025 the Carolina Panthers face the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale. Each week we’re diving into the NFL history books to highlight a unique or weird game when this same matchup happened in the past.
October 14, 2007 — One of the funniest things in the last 20 years of the NFL is about to take place. The Panthers are set to play the Cardinals in Arizona, and things have gone very, very wrong for them so far in the season. Starting quarterback Jake Delhomme was on the tear of his career, but then suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 3, causing things to spiral.
The team’s backup is David Carr, the former draft bust and older brother of Derek. He’s trying to hold on to a roster spot in the NFL and is in Carolina now. He plays wearing two gloves, which looks extremely funny against the black of the Panthers uniform.
Carr is absolutely abysmal in his two starts, but the team has no other option. Then injury strikes again. Carr suffers a back injury against the Saints in Week 5, leaving the team with only one quarterback on the roster: UDFA Matt Moore, who signed with the Panthers after the 2007 NFL Draft.
Carolina is reeling. Moore is nowhere near ready to start an NFL game, and the team is hoping-against-hope they can at least game manage their way to a winning record and make the playoffs, praying that Delhomme might be ready to return before the end of the year. It’s this desperation that leads them to make one of the funniest roster moves we’ve seen at the position …
The team signs 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde on a Wednesday. They’re set to play the Cardinals on Sunday. Not only is Testaverde the oldest quarterback in the NFL, but the prior year he’d only thrown three passes total as a backup in New England. The Patriots cut him on September 1st of 2007, meaning for the last two and a half months he’s been at home chilling, assuming his career was over — then the Panthers call him and say “hey buddy, we need you to play QB for us this week.”
The Cardinals, led by Kurt Warner are 6.0 point favorites in the game. They might be carrying a 3-3 record into the week while the Panthers are 4-2, but one team is starting Vinny-friggin-Testaverde at quarterback. Warner is having an old man comeback of his own at age 36. Signed by the Cardinals in the offseason to be a veteran mentor for Matt Leinart, Arizona is forced to start their old QB when Leinart breaks his collarbone in Game 3. It’s now Warner’s team, and he’s led Arizona to two straight wins.
It’s here everything gets even weirder.
The Cardinals receive the kickoff. On 2nd and 5 it looks like Arizona is going to easily drive downfield and score after Warner completes a deep pass to Larry Fitzgerald, but Fitz fumbles after the catch. This is the more sure-handed receiver in the NFL, and at this point in his career Fitzgerald had only fumbled once in four years.
A failed Panthers drive later it’s now 2nd and 1 for Arizona. Warner drops back and takes a mammoth sack from Julius Peppers. The veteran QB clutches at his arm, and it’s later revealed he tore a ligament in his elbow — THE EXACT SAME INJURY PANTHERS QB JAKE DELHOMME SUFFERED.
We now have the stupidest QB battle in history brewing. It’s 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde on his fourth day of preparation, against Tim Rattay who is somehow still on an NFL roster. The injury to Warner takes the focus, but Testaverde is lowkey playing ridiculous football. By the end of the first quarter Testaverde is 9-for-11 for 69 yards, including a deep pass to Steve Smith.
Meanwhile Rattay is playing one of the ugliest games of his career. He’s already fumbled the ball (which he thankfully recovered) and the deepest pass he’s completed was three yards downfield to Edgerrin James. Luckily he’s bailed out by the running back who takes the ball 23-yards on a carry to score the first touchdown of the game. Arizona is up at halftime 7-6.
The third quarter is a wet noodle fight between the quarterbacks. Two three-and-outs start the half, before the Panthers put together a drive that ends in a field goal, and another. Then the play of the hame happens. The only record of this throw happening now is from a bizarre YouTube channel that uploaded this play two years ago, for some reason — and set it to music. Nevertheless, please enjoy a 65-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Vestaverde to Steve Smith.
What I can’t sadly find video of was the play immediately following this. Carolina went for a two-point conversion and the play they drew up was to quarterback sneak with a slow, 43-year-old QB who never had a reputation for being very athletic at all. It fails — obviously.
Rattay realizes he needs to take this game by the horns and assert himself. He proceeds to throw THREE STRAIGHT INTERCEPTIONS in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Panthers respond with a field goal, one more touchdown and they go on to win 25-10.
Vinny Testaverde, the man who didn’t have a job mid-week and was starting on a Sunday becomes the oldest QB in NFL history to start and win an NFL game. The record won’t be broken for 15 years until Tom Brady bests him. It was one of the weirdest games lost to time, and it’s nice to remember it again this week.
