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CHARLOTTE (AP) — An odd rule and a naked bootleg ended a month of misery for Jake Delhomme and the Panthers.

For the Redskins and embattled coach Jim Zorn, the bad times took a new twist.

Delhomme engineered an improbable comeback Sunday, rallying Carolina to a 20-17 victory over Washington that had strange rulings, bold play calls and key errors.

Everything except crisp football — not that Delhomme was complaining after he sealed the victory with a 9-yard run on third-and-8 with 2 minutes left.

"It wasn't pretty by any stretch," Delhomme said. "This was a gritty win."

And bizarre. The Panthers (1-3), who entered with a league-worst minus-8 turnover margin, coughed it up twice, allowing Washington (2-3) to go only 14 yards to score two touchdowns for a 17-2 third-quarter lead.

But Delhomme, who threw his eighth interception earlier, hit Jeff King for a 17-yard touchdown and then got a field goal on another drive.

Leading 17-12, Washington (2-3) forced a punt with just over 10 minutes left. Carolina's Quinton Teal blocked Washington's Byron Westbrook into returner Antwaan Randle El, ruled a legal play because Randle El had to move forward due to the short punt. The ball bounced off Westbrook's foot and Carolina's Dante Wesley pounced on the ball.

The officials initially awarded the ball to Washington. They then determined the ball hit Westbrook first and gave it to Carolina, a call upheld after Washington challenged.

"If you get pushed into me and I fair catch, I thought it was a free ball, basically," Randle El said. "So if they recover it's still our ball. That ain't the rule, apparently."

According to referee Walt Coleman: "If the Washington player is stationary and just standing there and the Carolina player had come down there and had knocked him, then it would have been totally different."

Jonathan Stewart's 8-yard touchdown run and Delhomme's 2-point conversion to Steve Smith on the ensuing drive gave Carolina the lead.

The Panthers' defense, behind improved play by defensive end Julius Peppers, then forced a punt. The Redskins had used all their timeouts when Carolina faced a third-and-8 from its 25 with 2 minutes left.

Bootleg? For the not-so-speedy Delhomme.

"I thought they wouldn't be expecting it," coach John Fox said.

Delhomme faked a handoff to Stewart and rolled right. He lumbered to the corner and was met by DeAngelo Hall. Delhomme stiff-armed him, dragging him for the extra yard and the first down.

Delhomme, who was booed off the field and benched after throwing four interceptions at home in Week 1, pumped both fists as Carolina celebrated its first win since Dec. 28.

"I think that's good for him to get that monkey off his back," King said of Delhomme, who was 16 of 25 for 181 yards. "He's had a tough couple of weeks getting blamed for some things."

The Redskins haven't taken advantage of their weak schedule, falling to 10-11 under Zorn. Newly hired offensive consultant Sherman Lewis could only watch from the coaching box as Jason Campbell was held to 145 yards passing and Clinton Portis to 57 yards rushing. Portis did catch a TD pass and run for another, but the Redskins still haven't scored 30 points under Zorn.

A shake-up on the offensive line didn't help. Campbell was sacked five times with Mike Williams getting the surprise start at right guard in his first game since the 2005 season. Then left tackle Chris Samuels went down with a stinger in the first quarter and was replaced by D'Anthony Batiste.

"I don't think we're jinxed," Zorn said. "I think you play the game the way it falls. You know I felt like we would move the ball and their defense would do a couple things."

Washington 7 3 7 0 — 17
Carolina 0 2 7 11 — 20

Was—Portis 10 pass from Campbell (Suisham kick)
Car—T.Davis safety
Was—FG Suisham 38
Was—Portis 1 run (Suisham kick)
Car—King 17 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick)
Car—FG Kasay 43
Car—Stewart 8 run (Smith pass from Delhomme)
A—73,487

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — WAS 15, CAR 16
Total Net Yards — WAS 198, CAR 248
Rushes-yards — WAS 24-74, CAR 32-86
Passing — WAS 124, CAR 162
Punt Returns — WAS 3-3, CAR 3-14
Kickoff Returns — WAS 1-23, CAR 5-106
Interceptions Ret. — WAS 1-44, CAR 0-0
Comp-Att-Int — WAS 17-23-0, CAR 16-25-1
Sacked-Yards Lost — WAS 5-21, CAR 3-19
Punts — WAS 5-38.4, CAR 4-44.8
Fumbles-Lost — WAS 3-1, CAR 4-1
Penalties-Yards — WAS 4-20, CAR 5-27
Time of Possession — WAS 28:43, CAR 31:17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
Washington — Portis 19-57, Betts 2-7, Mason 1-6, Campbell 2-4.
Carolina — D.Williams 18-40, Stewart 10-39, Delhomme 3-7, Hoover 1-0.

PASSING
Washington — Campbell 17-23-0-145.
Carolina — Delhomme 16-25-1-181.

RECEIVING
Washington — Moss 4-44, Randle El 3-28, Davis 3-23, D.Thomas 3-19, Portis 2-17, Kelly 1-8, Betts 1-6.
Carolina — Smith 5-65, Muhammad 5-39, King 2-30, D.Williams 2-19, Rosario 1-22, Stewart 1-6.

MISSED FIELD GOALS
None.