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OAKLAND, Calif. – The Carolina Panthers were fortunate to escape the place known as “The Black Hole” with a win Sunday.
Despite four interceptions by quarterback Jake Delhomme, Carolina defeated the Oakland Raiders 17-6 at McAfee Coliseum and flew home grateful to be 7-2, still in sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
“I am ecstatic that we won,” said Delhomme. “I am very crushed inside by the way we played offensively, and that’s on me. That’s how I feel. I didn’t give us a chance, and it really bothers me.”
Losing would have been a huge embarrassment for the Panthers. Oakland (2-7) was coming off a dreadful home loss to Atlanta last week and entered the game ranked 29th in the NFL in offense and 28th in defense.
The Raiders were without three key starters due to injuries – quarterback JaMarcus Russell, star rookie running back Darren McFadden and defensive end Derrick Burgess.
On paper, before kickoff, the matchup looked one-sided.
But it didn’t turn out that way.
Delhomme had the lowest passer rating of his NFL career (12.3). Had he not completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad in the first period after the Raiders fumbled the opening kickoff, he might have equaled the infamous 0.0 rating by former Carolina quarterback Randy Fasani in a 2002 loss to Tampa Bay.
Delhomme matched his career high for pass interceptions, two of which set up the Raiders’ only points (two Sebastian Janikowski field goals) in the third period.
He finished 7 of 27 passing for 72 yards, setting new career lows for pass completions and passing yardage in a game. The Panthers gained only 219 yards of total offense, including a mere 56 in the second half, when their first seven possessions resulted in punts or interceptions.
Delhomme was puzzled about the performance because he and the offense had some of their sharpest practices of the season last week.
“I felt great about our plan,” he said. “I thought we had a good week of work. It felt great throwing this week.”
Delhomme was quick to credit Oakland’s defense for playing well, but it was the play of Carolina’s defense and special teams, and a spectacular run by DeAngelo Williams, that made the difference.
Despite giving up chunks of yards at time to Raiders running backs, Carolina’s defense kept an opponent out of the end zone for the third time this season.
With 133 points allowed through nine games, the Panthers now rank second in the NFL in scoring defense, trailing only unbeaten Tennessee (117 points).
Defensive end Julius Peppers had arguably his best game in two years. He had three sacks, two forced fumbles and seven solo tackles. It was the seventh three-sack game of his career, but first since Nov. 2006.
Delhomme thanked Peppers after the game – and apologized.
“I put them in some bad situations,” he said.
Peppers said the apology wasn’t necessary.
“We thanked him last (game) for bailing us out against Arizona,” said Peppers, recalling how the Panthers struggled to stop Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner’s passing in a 27-23 come-from-behind win.
“It’s like that some days,” said Peppers. “Some days you get it going and some days you can’t. We couldn’t stop (anybody vs. the Cardinals) and they bailed us out. Today, they couldn’t do anything and we carried the load.”
The special teams also helped, especially early. Dante Wesley forced a fumble on the opening kickoff that Adam Seward recovered on the Oakland 16.
Four plays later, Delhomme threw his 3-yard TD to Muhammad for a 7-0 lead.
Williams also played a huge role in the win, breaking off a 69-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter to give Carolina a 14-0 halftime lead.
Though Delhomme kept turning the ball over, the Raiders’ offense was as porous as the Carolina defense was good.
The Raiders had three turnovers and drove inside the Carolina 20 just once, making it to the 15 before quarterback Andrew Walter was intercepted by Panthers’ cornerback Richard Marshall in the end zone.
Still, Oakland topped Carolina in first downs (17-10), total offense (259-219) and had a huge edge in time of possession (37:02 to 22:58).
If ever a team won ugly, the Panthers did Sunday – unless you asked coach John Fox.
From Fox’s perspective, “a W is a W” in a league in which victories rarely come easy.
“You can call it ugly,” Fox said. “I won’t.”
The Panthers are back home at Bank of America Stadium next week to play the 0-9 Detroit Lions, who have lost 16 of their past 17 games dating back to last season.
But if Carolina’s struggle against the Raiders is any indication, beating Detroit can’t be considered automatic.
Charles Chandler: (704) 358-5123.
