CHARLOTTE:Â This time a big Carolina Panthers lead was safe.
It was just never particularly comfortable.
After the Carolina Panthers stretched their lead to 20 in the third quarter, the Carolina Panthers held on for a 23-20 victory at Bank of America Stadium on Thursday night.
The victory wasn't without cost. Center Ryan Kalil reinjured his right shoulder early in the second half and defensive end Mario Addison, who had two sacks, left with an injured right foot.
Then, linebacker Luke Kuechly left the game on a cart with 4:41 to play after taking a helmet to the facemask and then the chest from running back Tim Hightower. It was reported Kuechly was being examined for another concussion. He missed three games last year with one.
Cam Newton's 40-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. in the final minute of the second quarter gave the Panthers that 17-point advantage.
For some, that was still a nervous number.
A week earlier, the Panthers led Kansas City 17-0 before giving up two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a last-minute field goal, losing 20-17.
And Thursday, after Graham Gano's third field goal of the game stretched the margin to 20 on the first drive of the third quarter, the Saints made Panthers fans nervous again.
A Wil Lutz field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter and a 9-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Brandon Coleman made it 23-13 with 11:22 to play.
Then, with 2:52 to play in the game, the Saints completed a 13-play, 76-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Coby Fleener that cut Carolina's lead to 23-20.
The Saints got back into the game largely because of three consecutive three-and-out series by the Carolina offense in the fourth quarter.
But staring at a fourth consecutive three-and-out, quarterback Cam Newton found wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin for an 18-yard completion that gave the Panthers a first down on third and 10.
With the Saints out of timeouts, three running plays ran the clock down to 28 seconds before the Panthers were forced to punt.
Michael Palardy, who didn't have a regular-season punt in the NFL before Thursday, hit a 52-yarder, and a holding penalty on the Saints put the ball at the New Orleans 14 with 14 seconds to play.
Three Drew Brees completions later, the clock had run out and Carolina had survived.
The Panthers improved to 4-6, two games behind NFC South-leading Atlanta, which has a by this week. New Orleans is also 4-6.
Three who mattered
Ginn Jr.: After not scoring a touchdown all season coming in, he nearly had one on a reverse on Carolina's first drive, then got one on the 40-yard pass from Newton with 17 seconds to play in the first half that gave Carolina a 20-3 lead. He did muff a punt, but did recover it, in the fourth quarter.
Mario Addison: Mario Addison got a strip and fumble recovery on the Saints' third pass attempt, and later added a second sack. Addison has 6.5 sacks on the season, tying his career high from 2014. But in the fourth quarter, Addison limped off with a right foot injury.
Kuechly: Before leaving with a possible concussion, Kuechly was everywhere. He had 14 tackles, a pass defensed and nearly returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown.
The Charlotte Observer