Newton’s 3 TDs lead Panthers past Saints
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton has the Panthers off to their best start in more than a decade.
Newton threw for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns to tight end Greg Olsen and also ran for a score, and the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-22 on Sunday.
Luke McCown, starting in place of the injured Drew Brees, completed 31 of 38 passes for 310 yards. Newton ran for a 13-yard TD on a bootleg as the Panthers started 3-0 for the first time since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2003 season.
Panthers cornerback Josh Norman sealed the game with a leaping interception in the end zone with 1:09 remaining.
The Saints led 16-10 after Marcus Murphy returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown after the Panthers’ Teddy Williams had been flagged for running along the sideline on the play before, forcing a re-kick.
But after New Orleans missed the extra point, the Panthers came right back with Newton connecting with Olsen for his second TD of the game to give Carolina its first lead at 17-16.
After Graham Gano’s field goal, Newton appeared to change the play at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-2 at the Saints 13. The athletic 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback faked the handoff into the line and rolled to the left and coasted into the end zone for the 35th rushing touchdown of his career, tying him with Steve Grogan and Randall Cunningham for seventh-most in NFL history among quarterbacks.