Battered Panthers hold off Saints rally

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Cam Newton threw for 192 yards and a touchdown and the Carolina Panthers held off New Orleans’ fourth-quarter rally to beat the Saints 23-20 on Thursday night in a game marred by injuries to key players.

Newton was 14 of 33 and threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. to help the Panthers (4-6) win for third time in three games and pull even with the Saints for third place in the NFC South.

Jonathan Stewart also ran for a touchdown and Graham Gano had three field goals.

But the win didn’t come without a cost.

The Panthers lost former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly (concussion), two-time All-Pro center Ryan Kalil (shoulder), defensive end Mario Addison (foot) and cornerback Leonard Johnson (chest) to injuries. Kuechly left the field on a cart while tears streamed down his face.

The Saints lost running back Mark Ingram to a concussion in the third quarter.

The Panthers, who surrendered a 17-point lead and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, entered the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead before injuries set in.

Drew Brees, who was limited to 171 yards and no touchdowns in the first three quarters, rallied the Saints back to within 23-20, connecting on touchdown passes to Brandon Coleman and Coby Fleener.

Brees threw for 285 yards.

That was a dramatic difference from the last time the two teams met on Oct. 16 when Brees threw for 465 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-38 win over the Panthers.

Maybe Ginn is just too fast for officials.

In the first quarter Ginn appeared to score on a 14-yard run, but officials reviewed the play and ruled his knee was down at the 1-yard line taking away a touchdown. Then, in the closing seconds of the second quarter, officials ruled Ginn was out of bounds on a pass from Cam Newton. But after instant replay officials overturned the ruling and gave Ginn a 40-yard touchdown catch.