CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jake Delhomme claimed he was numb just after his coach stopped short of endorsing him.
For Carolina's mistake-prone quarterback, 13 may be the unlucky number that gets him benched.
Delhomme threw three more interceptions Sunday -- giving him an NFL-high 13 in his miserable season -- allowing the outgained and outplayed Buffalo Bills to pull out an unlikely 20-9 win.
Consider the Bills (3-4), who won their second straight, were outgained 425-167, managed only nine first downs to Carolina's 20 and held the ball for nearly 10 fewer minutes. The only statistic that mattered in this game was turnovers -- and Delhomme has become a turnover machine for the Panthers (2-4), who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
"Usually I'm not too much at a loss for words," Delhomme said. "I'm kind of almost numb. I don't know."
Coach John Fox said he'd "evaluate" the quarterback situation after rookie Jairus Byrd's two interceptions set up Buffalo's two touchdowns.
On Monday, Fox said he hadn't made a decision about who would start as quarterback against Arizona on Sunday.
"I don't know that yet, and if I did, I wouldn't announce it quite yet," Fox told reporters.
Byrd returned the first interception to the Carolina 7, leading to Marshawn Lynch's touchdown run. The second pick, of another overthrown ball, was returned to the Carolina 27. It set up Ryan Fitzpatrick's 2-yard TD pass to Lee Evans for a 14-2 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Bills were being outgained at that point 333-95. Buffalo also was helped out by Kenny Moore's muffed punt, two missed field goals from John Kasay and Carolina's failed fourth-down bid at the Buffalo 15.
Defense is driving the Bills, even if they lost defensive tackle Kyle Williams (knee). Byrd has five interceptions in three games, and the Bills have nine picks in the past two.
"This was a huge win for us," said coach Dick Jauron, who has seen some of the pressure lifted after the Bills won road games in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2004. "When you win the takeaway-giveaway 4-0, the percentages of your wins are huge. The turnovers were just huge for us."
Fitzpatrick, in his first start with Buffalo, was hardly spectacular, but he avoided the big mistakes that have doomed Delhomme. Replacing Trent Edwards following his concussion last week, Fitzpatrick was 11 of 22 for 123 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
He overcame Carolina's improved defense, which produced points when Hollis Thomas sacked Fred Jackson for a safety. Julius Peppers and Tyler Brayton had sacks, but they couldn't force Fitzpatrick to cough it up.
"You can't really complain about a win," said receiver Terrell Owens, who was held to three catches for 27 yards. "Offensively, we didn't execute all the time, but when there were some opportunities out there, Fitz did a great job managing the game and putting us in the right situations."
Carolina got within 17-9 after Delhomme found Steve Smith for 48 yards on fourth down, then DeAngelo Williams (16 carries, 89 yards) scrambled 15 yards for a TD on another fourth down.
The Panthers got the ball back with more than 5 minutes left, but Kenny Moore -- who had replaced the injured Captain Munnerlyn -- fumbled the punt return. Derek Fine recovered for Buffalo at the 20, and the Bills hung on for one of their most bizarre wins.
"Never once on the sidelines was there any doubt that we were going to win the game," Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay said. "Regardless if it's an ugly win over not, it's hard to win in this league."
It's especially difficult when your quarterback has committed 15 turnovers, counting two fumbles, and has thrown only four touchdown passes. Counting his ugly six-turnover performance in last season's playoff loss, Delhomme is in the middle of an ugly streak that might force Fox's hand.
"In my heart, yeah, but I mean let's be honest, I don't think I'm a dummy," Delhomme said when asked whether he should remain the starter. "When you're not playing well offensively you always have to look at the quarterback."
