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 Sunday.

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?'"

It was an incredible finish to a game that swung wildly with a big defensive play by each team in the second half. For Delhomme, it was a 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," said Delhomme, who led Carolina to the Super Bowl following the 2003 season, his first as a starter. "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.