St. Louis scored on their first drive of the game, with Marc Bulger completing passes to Dane Looker and Isaac Bruce for gains of 24 and 17 yards on the way to a 20-yard Jeff Wilkins field goal. They went on to add another field goal on their first drive of the second quarter, set up by Tommy Polley's 37-yard interception return to the Panthers 22-yard line. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Carolina managed to take the momentum with a 65-yard run by Stephen Davis, giving them a first down on the Rams 4. Eventually faced with third and goal from the 5, quarterback Jake Delhomme was tackled behind the line and fumbled the ball while attempting a shovel pass, but it rolled into the end zone where receiver Muhsin Muhammad recovered it for a touchdown that gave the Panthers a 7–6 lead. The Rams got the ball back on their own 46 due to a 15-yard face mask penalty by Mike Minter while tackling Arlen Harris at the end of a 30-yard return, and retook the lead with a third field goal from Wilkins. However, the Panthers also received good field position to start their next series, as Brad Hoover returned the next kickoff 19 yards to the Carolina 41. Delhomme then led the Panthers to the St. Louis 27 where John Kasay kicked a 45-yard field goal, giving the team a 10–9 lead at the end of the half.