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Carolina Panthers coach John Fox firmly denied a report on the Fox Sports Web site which said he'd told friends and some close acquaintances that he expected to be fired at the end of the season.
"I think if I was talking to my friends, I'd probably tell them if I was expecting a new five-year contract, but I don't think I'd be telling them I'm getting fired at the end of the season," Fox said after the Panthers' 20-17 come-from-behind win Sunday against the Washington Redskins at Bank of America Stadium. "I really don't even know how to respond to that. It doesn't make much sense if it did come out."
Sunday's win was the Panthers' first of the season after losing their first three games. - C.C.
Notes
If Washington's botched punt return in the fourth quarter didn't turn the game around, then a 55-yard kickoff return by the Panthers' Kenneth Moore in the third quarter certainly did.
The Redskins had just taken a potentially deflating 17-2 lead when Moore -- the team's first-ever player from Charlotte -- took the kickoff from Washington's Shaun Suisham at the 5.
Moore motored up the right sideline until he was knocked out of bounds at the Redskins 40. Four plays later, the Panthers scored and their comeback was on.
"I ran my tracks right and I set up my blocks right," said Moore. "When I did that, the hole was there and I just tried to explode and take it to the house."
The Redskins' Devin Thomas, though, prevented that by hitting Moore's feet and sending him out of bounds.
"I saw the light," said Moore of how close he came to scoring.
Moore played at Butler High and Wake Forest.
"That got a little juice in the stadium," said quarterback Jake Delhomme. "There's no doubt our guys (fed) off that."
Most unpopular (non)play of the game: The Panthers appeared to be going for it on fourth-and-1 in the first half, but instead went for the first down by hoping to draw the Redskins offside. When it didn't work, the offense went off the field with the crowd's boos ringing in its ears. - D.S.
Receiver Muhsin Muhammad caught five passes for 39 yards, passing the 11,000-yard mark (11,035) for his career. He's the fifth active player in the league to do that. - D.S.
The dominant color around the stadium Sunday was pink, as the Panthers and NFL continued to draw attention to finding a cure for breast cancer. Five Panthers players -- DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith, Jon Beason, Muhammad and Jonathan Stewart -- wore pink cleats, and others wore pink sweat bands. Towels, tape, goal-post pads, as well as the brims of coaches' and staff members' hats, were also pink. - D.S.
Plenty of Redskins fans were there, too. Remember, Charlotte and most of the Carolinas was Redskins territory before the Panthers showed up in 1995. - D.S.
The Panthers had no time outs remaining at the end of the first half when they took over at their 21 with 1:39 left. Delhomme threw four straight completions -- but they were all over the middle -- as the clock wound down. The Redskins, who had three timeouts left, called one, thinking they might get the ball back. But the Panthers kept possession, ending the half with a long throw from Delhomme to Muhammad, who caught the ball out a few yards out of the end zone. - D.S.
The Panthers' safety in the second quarter -- when Thomas Davis and Julius Peppers brought down Redskins running back Clinton Portis in the end zone -- was Carolina's first since 2006, when Mike Rucker sacked St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. - D.S.
The Panthers' inactive list: Running back Tyrell Sutton, cornerback C.J. Wilson, running back Mike Goodson (concussion), tackle Garry Williams, guard Duke Robinson, defensive tackle Antwon Burton and defensive end Hilee Taylor, with A.J. Feeley the No. 3 (emergency) quarterback.
Strong safety Chris Harris and outside linebacker Na'il Diggs will return to action today. Diggs didn't play two weeks ago against Dallas due to bruised ribs. It was Harris' first action of the regular season after missing the first three games with a knee injury. - C.C.
Washington's inactives: Punter Hunter Smith (injured), cornerback Kevin Barnes, running back Anthony Alridge, center/guard Edwin Williams, linebacker Robert Henson, guard Chad Rinehart, wide receiver Marko Mitchell and defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery. - C.C.
By the numbers
3: Sacks of Campbell in first quarter (by Beason and defensive ends Everette Brown and Peppers). Carolina ended with five sacks.
3: Touchdown passes by Delhomme to tight ends this season.
0: Touchdown passes to Delhomme to his receivers.
8:01: Time remaining when Washington called its final timeout, allowing the Panthers to kill the clock easier on their final possession.
Quoting
"That way! That way!" - Panthers receiver Steve Smith, urging the officials to signal it would be Carolina's ball after it hit Byron Westbrook on a punt in the fourth quarter.
"Obviously nobody was mannin' up on the quarterback. I happened to see him haulin' a-- outta there so I figured, hey, he might have the ball. I sprinted out a yard too short." - Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Delhomme's 9-yard bootleg for a first down that clinched the game.
"I was laughing at him." - Williams, on Delhomme's run.
"Runner was down by contact. Head was on the ground." - Referee Walt Coleman when Washington tight end Fred Davis was flipped after a reception and had the ball knocked out when he hit the turf.
