Panthers 41, Saints 10
Panthers 41, Saints 10: Cam Newton matched his career high with three touchdown passes and Jonathan Stewart rushed for 155 yards and a score as visiting Carolina snapped its seven-game winless streak.
Newton finished 21-of-33 for 226 yards while adding 83 yards and a TD on the ground for the Panthers (4-8-1), who won for the first time since Week 5 to pull within one game of NFC South leader Atlanta. Stewart recorded his first 100-yard performance since 2010 and Greg Olsen caught 10 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Drew Brees went 29-of-49 for a season-low 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Saints (5-8), who dropped one-half game behind the Falcons. Marques Colston had five receptions for 72 yards and Mark Ingram rushed for a team-high 43 yards.
The Panthers produced points on their first three possessions - and forced turnovers on New Orleans' first two - to take control early, as Newton threw a 9-yard TD pass to rookie Kelvin Benjamin, Graham Gano booted a 37-yard field goal and Newton tacked on a 2-yard scoring run to make it 17-0. Shayne Graham's 37-yard field goal got the Saints on the board, but Newton hit Olsen for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 24-3 at halftime.
Stewart went a career-best 69 yards untouched for a TD on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, and Fozzy Whittaker took a short pass 26 yards for a TD to make it 38-3 after three quarters. After Gano's second field goal of the day, Brees found Benjamin Watson for a 7-yard TD pass as the Saints avoided being held without a touchdown for the first time in the quarterback's and coach Sean Payton's tenure.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Panthers TE Brandon Williams was ejected for throwing punches during a scuffle that broke out following Newton's TD run in the first quarter. … Olsen (850) broke his own Panthers record for receiving yards by a tight end, surpassing his total of 843 in 2012. … New Orleans has lost four straight home games for the first time since 1999.