Cam Newton’s dive for the ball puts brief scare into Panthers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton gave the Panthers an early injury scare before returning to help Carolina defeat New England 25-14 on Friday night in a preseason game.

On the game’s opening drive, Newton scrambled out of the pocket on third-and-9 before recklessly diving head-first — this is the preseason, after all — and landing on his head after getting upended by cornerback Jonathan Jones.

Newton was forced to leave the game to be evaluated for a concussion, but returned four plays later to a loud ovation and played the remainder of the first half.

He finished 11 of 17 for 142 yards passing and led three scoring drives — all resulting in field goals — as the Panthers built a 9-3 lead at halftime.

Running back Christian McCaffrey continued to be a major player on offense, touching the ball 10 times for 51 yards on Carolina’s opening drive which lasted nearly 10 minutes.

The Panthers (3-0) had 203 yards in the first half, but couldn’t find the end zone.

It was a quiet night for Tom Brady, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 102 yards in the first half.

The five-time Super Bowl champion didn’t get much help from his receivers, who dropped multiple passes. The Patriots (2-1) never did get in sync offensively and were limited to 130 yards in the first half.

GIANTS 22, JETS 16

In East Rutherford, N.J., Sam Darnold led the Jets on two touchdown drives, moving closer to securing the starting quarterback job in a loss to the Giants.

The No. 3 overall draft pick made his second consecutive start, finishing 8 of 16 for 86 yards — including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor.

Darnold is competing with Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown for the Jets’ starting job, but the rookie is being given every chance to be under center when New York (1-2) opens the regular season at Detroit on Sept. 10.

Bridgewater came in on the Jets’ second offensive possession of the second half, while McCown never played. Bridgewater was 11 of 15 for 104 yards.

Darnold got off to a solid start, leading an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the Jets’ opening series that was capped by Bilal Powell’s 10-yard touchdown run.

The Giants’ starters played just the first two quarters, with Eli Manning going 17 of 23 for 188 yards in what was likely his final tuneup before the regular season. Sterling Shepard had seven catches for 78 yards for the Giants (2-1).

VIKINGS 21, SEAHAWKS 20

In Minneapolis, Kirk Cousins helped Minnesota’s offense make some progress by passing for 182 yards in the first half, and third-stringer Kyle Sloter threw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Vikings rallied for a victory over Seattle.

Sebastian Janikowski kicked field goals from 35 and 55 yards in the first half for the Seahawks (1-2), who kept their starters in past halftime. Russell Wilson led one scoring drive against the vaunted Vikings defense, finishing 11 for 21 for 118 yards.

Chris Carson carried seven times for 26 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 20 yards for the Seahawks, who are trying to regenerate the power running attack that helped them reach two straight Super Bowls.

For the Vikings (2-1), Sloter’s touchdowns went to Jake Weineke and Chad Beebe, before the go-ahead 2-point conversion completion to Weineke again.