Newton keeps Panthers perfect with 41-38 win over Saints

But it shouldn’t. At 11-0, the Panthers are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL. When a play that would win the game had to be made, they made it. Despite dropped passes and missed throws, Cam Newton drove the Panthers to two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

And Brees threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, but the offense stalled too much early when the Saints could have opened a bigger lead.

Stephone Anthony’s blocked extra point return was the first of its kind in National Football League history…Mark Ingram has not set his career high in yards from scrimmage with 1,174, breaking his previous career high of 1,109 in 2014…With two takeaways in the first quarter, the Saints posted their first opening quarter with two takeaways since they notched two on October 27 2013 against Buffalo…The Saints converted a pair of two-point conversion, doing so for the third time in club history.

All told, the quarterback completed 28 of 41 passes for 331 yards and five touchdowns.

Philadelphia at New England (Sunday)- So, the Patriots won’t be going 16-0 this year after an overtime lost in Denver last Sunday night.

The comeback fell short when Brady’s passes bounced out of his receivers’ hands.

And a holding penalty on right guard Senio Kelemete negated a first-down pass to Watson near midfield to leave the Saints facing second-and-20 before they punted two plays later.

“We had a lot of good things today”, said Brees, who ended with three touchdowns and an interception.

Carolina drove 79 yards after the second half kickoff as Newton found Ten Ginn, Jr. with a 13 yard touchdown pass to give Carolina the lead.

Still, at that point in the season, it was hard to imagine that come this week’s rematch Carolina would remain flawless. The AFC West-leading Broncos are 10-2. Seattle Seahawks (7-5) ————— 7. That left many questioning Coughlin and wondering whether the Giants (5-7) are headed for a fourth straight season out of the playoffs. Which is the wrong way to be hitting a game against the hottest, and maybe best team in the league.

Jonathan Stewart led the Panthers with 85 yards rushing on 21 carries with a touchdown.

Taylor finished 11 of 21 for 211 yards and three TDs and also scored on an 8-yard run. Hoyer threw four consecutive incompletions on the Texans’ drive after Clay’s touchdown. If today was any indication, don’t take the remaining weeks lightly. Carolina has a solid defense but if Drew Brees gets protection, he could put up 30-plus points in a hurry. “And it happened twice – 12 men on the field, clearly”.

The teams combined for six touchdowns in the fourth quarter. On the next play, Devin Funchess dropped what could have been a first down.

“We were like, ‘it’s right there in front of us for the taking, ‘” Rivera said of the NFC South title. Green Bay Packers (8-4) 4. Blake Bortles threw for 322 yards and five touchdowns. Panthers drives were a given at least one free first down somewhere.

A playoff berth is within reach for the Bengals, who need a win over the hapless Browns and losses by Houston, Indianapolis and the Jets as the most clear entry point. “The ultimate goal is to win the game, regardless of how you perform and we lost”, Anthony said. The young Buccaneers have been inconsistent all year, and this Sunday they face a reeling Falcons team that is 1-5 in their last 6 games.

Brees has averaged 42 passing attempts over the past four games. Combine that with the fact Newton has become one of the most effective downfield passers and it’s easy to see why defenses have struggled to keep him from dancing his way to the end zone. Greg Olsen (nine catches for 129 yards) had a fumble, but exploited a defense missing linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.

Arizona fell at home to St. Louis in Week 4, when rookie Todd Gurley made his first start and ran for 146 yards.