Nov 9, 2008 - 10:28 PM
0 shoutsOAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Jake Delhomme played about as bad as he could and the Carolina Panthers won anyway.
Delhomme threw four interceptions, but the Panthers' defense kept the Oakland Raiders out of the end zone and the offense did enough for a 17-6 victory on Sunday.
Carolina led, 14-0, at the half on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad in the first quarter and a 69-yard TD run by DeAngelo Williams in the second.
Oakland had three turnovers of its own, including a pair of interceptions by Andrew Walter, who started for an injured JaMarcus Russell.
"It felt good to play again but obviously the game didn't turn out the way we wanted," Walter said.
"We got to stay out of those third and longs," Oakland interim coach Tom Cable said. "Our game on first and second down I thought we were quite efficient. But penalty here, penalty there and next thing you know it's third and nine, third and 11, third and eight. Just too much to overcome. We're not there yet."
The four picks matched a career worst for Delhomme, but Williams finished with 140 yards on 19 carries and the Carolina defense was too much for Walter.
"Their defense is very good," Delhomme said. "They didn't play well last week against Atlanta and when you get embarrassed like they did, it's the NFL, guys come ready to play.
"We were pretty darn sharp in practice this week. It was one of our sharper weeks offensively. And for whatever reason, I was the one pulling the trigger today and I wasn't the sharpest for us."
Oakland (2-7) outgained Carolina, 259-219, but could only manage a pair of second-half field goals by Sebastian Janikowski. The Raiders have now gone nine quarters without scoring a touchdown and have lost three straight.
"We gave up a lot of yards passing and rushing," Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers said. "I am not exact on numbers, but I was out there and I know we didn't give up a lot of points and that's the main thing that counts."
It looked like it was going to be a long day for Oakland right off the bat as Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled the opening kickoff at the 16-yard line. Delhomme capped that short drive with his pass to Muhammad for a 7-0 lead.
That was pretty much the high point for Delhomme, who completed 7-of-27 passes for 72 yards. Despite that performance, Carolina (7-2) won to remain in first place in the NFC South.
"A 'W' is a 'W'. A long time ago there is no such thing as an ugly win," Carolina coach John Fox said. "That's why they call it a team game. I thought our defense had a tremendous effort and we made plays offensively when we needed to, we made enough plays to win.
"We're 7-2. That's one game better than 6-2 last time I looked."
Janikowski's two field goals gave him 865 career points, breaking George Blanda's franchise record of 863. Janikowski missed a 58-yard field-goal attempt with nine seconds to play.
"It's just a number," Janikowski said. "I'd trade all those points in for the win."
From the Bleachers
-
CAROLINA: 17
OAKLAND: 6
Final
Nov 9 7:17 PM -
CAROLINA: 17
OAKLAND: 6
Final
Nov 9 7:17 PM -
NFL
FG CAR
JOHN KASAY 32 YD
CAROLINA 17
OAKLAND 6 1:49 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Nov 9 7:08 PM -
NFL
FG CAR
JOHN KASAY 32 YD
CAROLINA 17
OAKLAND 6 1:49 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Nov 9 7:08 PM -
CAROLINA: 14
OAKLAND: 6
End of 3rd
Nov 9 6:31 PM -
CAROLINA: 14
OAKLAND: 6
End of 3rd
Nov 9 6:31 PM -
NFL
FG OAK
SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI 45 YD
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 6 8:54 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Nov 9 6:14 PM -
NFL
FG OAK
SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI 45 YD
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 6 8:54 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Nov 9 6:14 PM -
NFL
FG OAK
SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI 38 YD
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 3 13:25 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Nov 9 5:55 PM -
NFL
FG OAK
SEBASTIAN JANIKOWSKI 38 YD
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 3 13:25 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Nov 9 5:55 PM -
CAROLINA: 14
OAKLAND: 0
Halftime
Nov 9 5:38 PM -
CAROLINA: 14
OAKLAND: 0
Halftime
Nov 9 5:38 PM -
NFL
TD CAR
DEANGELO WILLIAMS 69 YD RUN
(JOHN KASAY KICK)
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 0 3:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Nov 9 5:24 PM -
NFL
TD CAR
DEANGELO WILLIAMS 69 YD RUN
(JOHN KASAY KICK)
CAROLINA 14
OAKLAND 0 3:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Nov 9 5:24 PM -
CAROLINA: 7
OAKLAND: 0
End of 1st
Nov 9 4:40 PM -
CAROLINA: 7
OAKLAND: 0
End of 1st
Nov 9 4:40 PM -
NFL
TD CAR
MUHSIN MUHAMMAD 3 YD PASS FROM JAKE DELHOMME
(JOHN KASAY KICK)
CAROLINA 7
OAKLAND 0 13:25 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Nov 9 4:12 PM -
NFL
TD CAR
MUHSIN MUHAMMAD 3 YD PASS FROM JAKE DELHOMME
(JOHN KASAY KICK)
CAROLINA 7
OAKLAND 0 13:25 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Nov 9 4:12 PM -
NFL
CAROLINA 0
OAKLAND 0 14:52 LEFT, 1ST QTR
CAR BALL ON OAK 16 YD LINE
1ST AND 10
Nov 9 4:07 PM
