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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- In his first trip back to the stadium where he tore three knee ligaments a year ago, Daunte Culpepper immediately sought out the man who leveled the hit that changed his career.

"I walked up to Chris Gamble and I told him, 'Thank you,"' said Culpepper after his new team, the Miami Dolphins, lost to the Carolina Panthers 19-10 on Thursday. "If he hadn't hit me like that, I probably wouldn't be here right now. I was very excited to come back to the city of Charlotte and I was glad to go out and show people it really isn't an issue."

Culpepper looked sharp less than 10 months after the devastating injury and five months after his trade from Minnesota. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 130 yards in one half of work, but the Dolphins (1-2) couldn't get into the end zone in the first half.

"I'm getting more and more comfortable every day," Culpepper said. "I like what we did tonight. We wanted to capitalize a little bit more in the red zone, but for the most part we were very physical. We want to send a message that we're going to be a physical offense."

Culpepper showed quickness and avoided at least two sacks, rushing twice for 11 yards and helping the Dolphins twice get deep into Carolina territory. But Chris Draft stuffed Ronnie Brown on a fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Thomas Davis made an open-field tackle on Wes Welker to force Olindo Mare's 23-yard field goal.

A telling moment for Culpepper came when he scrambled out of the pocket and ran into the open field for eight yards, sliding before he could be hit.

"I said 'get down' probably 80 times in eight yards," Dolphins coach Nick Saban said.