Panthers survive Oakland trip with win

OAKLAND, Calif. -- There was this number: four interceptions by quarterback Jake Delhomme.

But there was also this number: three sacks by defensive end Julius Peppers.

The play of Peppers and the Carolina Panthers' defense was so stout that it offset one of the worst performance's of Delhomme's NFL quarterbacking career in a 17-6 win over the Oakland Raiders at McAfee Coliseum.

The victory, which was much more difficult to obtain than expected, gave Carolina a 7-2 record heading into next week's home game against the 0-9 Detroit Lions.

it appeared early on that the Panthers were going to cruise to a victory. The Raiders fumbled the opening kickoff and Carolina scored four plays later on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad.

But the Panthers struggled on offense for most of the remainder of the game.

The lone big play of the day was a 69-yard touchdown run late in the second period by running back DeAngelo Williams.

Williams finished with 135 yards rushing on 18 carries. Jonathan Stewart carried seven times for 21 yards.

Delhomme threw four interceptions, tying his career high, and completed only 7 of 27 passes for 72 yards.

Two of Delhomme's interceptions came in the third period and set up field goals by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski, which accounted for the Raiders' only points of the game.