CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Looking at the faces of the Carolina Panthers, it was hard to tell the club had just matched the record for the largest winning margin in franchise history.

	Pro Bowl receiver Muhsin Muhammad scores a first-quarter TD.

"Even though we won the game, we came in the locker room and felt like we lost," linebacker Micheal Barrow said after the Panthers' 45-13 victory over New Orleans on Sunday wasn't enough to secure a playoff berth for Carolina.

Carolina (8-8) won six of nine to finish its first season under coach George Seifert, but the Panthers still came up short of qualifying for an NFC wild-card spot.

Carolina had to win Sunday by 18 points more than Green Bay's winning margin over Arizona. The Packers won by 25, meaning the Panthers needed to win by 43 to have a chance.

Carolina threw on nearly every play in the fourth quarter, and New Orleans did the same, well aware of the Panthers' desperate need to win big. A 9-yard scramble by the Saints' Jake Delhomme with 18 seconds left sealed Carolina's fate, and just for good measure, the Saints tried a 2-point conversion that failed.

Seifert got constant updates on the Green Bay score from Carolina front-office personnel.

"It was a minute-by-minute, second-by-second scenario," Seifert said. "No disrespect for our opponent. I think everybody understands that you have to do all that you can to try."

Steve Beuerlein threw a club-record five scoring passes, Michael Bates returned a kickoff 95 yards for another touchdown and the Panthers intercepted Delhomme four times and converted two into 10 points.

Beuerlein, who completed 22 of 41 passes for 322 yards, hit Wesley Walls and Patrick Jeffers for two scores each and Muhsin Muhammad for one.

GAME NOTES

The game may have been the last for Carolina linebacker Kevin Greene and offensive guard Nate Newton, who between them have played 29 seasons in the NFL and gone to the Pro Bowl 11 times. Neither player would formally announce his retirement after the game. New Orleans has lost 14 consecutive road games dating to September 1998. The game matched the 32-point margin of victory Carolina recorded on Oct. 13, 1996, against St. Louis, also by a 45-13 score.

Jeffers, who three days earlier signed a four-year, $10 million contract extension, wound up with 165 yards on seven catches, extending his club record to five consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards.

New Orleans (3-13) fell to 15-33 under Mike Ditka, whose future with the Saints is to be reviewed soon by team owner Tom Benson.

After the game, Ditka stood outside the Saints' locker room and made it clear he wasn't interested in answering questions about what he anticipated might be in his future.

"I anticipate going in there and taking a shower so I can get out of here," he snapped.

One of Ditka's biggest risks in his three years with the Saints was his 1999 draft-day gamble on Ricky Williams, who ended his rookie season on an unproductive note. The oft-injured Williams, trying to become the first New Orleans back in 10 years to rush for 1,000 yards, carried 14 times for 7 yards and finished with 894 for the season.

"It's just another one of those years," said tackle William Roaf, who has played all seven of his NFL seasons with the Saints. "Here we go again -- rebuilding again."

Delhomme, the NFL Europe graduate who endeared himself to New Orleans fans by leading the Saints to a surprise victory over Dallas a week earlier, wasn't nearly as successful in his second NFL start. He completed 26 of 49 passes for 243 yards and repeatedly drew Ditka's wrath.

"It was pretty bad. We're not very proud of what happened out there," Ditka said. "Jake has to see more of the field, but I'm not really worried about him. He's a warrior. He plays hard. If it wasn't for him being able to scramble a little bit, we wouldn't have scored our two touchdowns."

So inept were the Saints on offense that they didn't even get into Carolina territory until the final 90 seconds of the first half, and when they did, they were only there for one play.

A six-yard pass to Eddie Kennison put the ball on the Carolina 45, but Delhomme was dropped for a 12-yard sack by Kevin Greene on the next play, prompting a red-faced Ditka to call timeout and erupt, screaming at Delhomme for not throwing away the ball.

New Orleans did not get inside the Carolina 40 until Delhomme engineered a drive that produced a two-yard scoring toss to Kennison with 13 minutes left in the game, making it 31-7.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Bates took the ball at his own 5, raced up the middle to the 30, found his path sealed, but burst out to the sideline, where the 1992 Olympic sprinter found clear sailing.