CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. He didnt need to be. Newton threw for one touchdown and ran for another to overcome a shaky start, the defence intercepted Matt Ryan three times and the Carolina Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-10 for their fourth straight victory. Offensive tackle Jordan Gross was more impressed with Newton on Sunday than in the previous three games in which the third-year quarterback played near-perfect ball. "There were times today where he could have gotten rattled," Gross said. "He took some shots and had some turnovers, but he didnt (get rattled). He kept on swinging." Newton entered on quite a streak, completing 77 per cent of his passes with eight touchdowns -- six passing and two rushing -- and no turnovers in his previous three games. But he had two first half interceptions and wasnt sharp on his deep balls, regularly overthrowing his receivers. "He got a little carried away early on and tried to make things happen," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "The ball sailed a little bit on him today and when hes doing that its because hes anxious. Hes excited. He wants to do well. Its unfortunate that he didnt bring the ball down a little bit because there were some big plays left out there." Still, Newton bounced back to throw for 249 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Olsen, and also scored on an 8-yard run. Newton called his play "unacceptable." "I didnt put my best foot forward in the first half," he said. But his teammates were quick to back him up. "Everybody gets wrapped up in stats and quarterback ratings and yards per catch or whatever," Olsen said. "At the end of the day, when you go out and you win 34-10 and you are the quarterback -- you did your job." The Panthers (5-3) pulled within a game of the New Orleans Saints, who lost to the New York Jets. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored his fifth touchdown in the last four games on a 4-yard burst and cornerback Drayton Florence intercepted Ryan and returned it 38 yards for a score to seal the win. At 2-6, the Falcons post-season hopes are fading fast. The Falcons continued to struggle without Julio Jones and Roddy White. Tony Gonzalez had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown but the running game continues to struggle as Steven Jackson and company were held to a combined 78 yards on the ground. The Panthers defence limited Ryan to 219 yards and forced four turnovers -- three interceptions. "I know Matt. Hes going to look at this film. Hes going to obsess over it," Gonzalez said. "I have no doubt hes going to bounce back." The Panthers got a huge break early in the fourth quarter. Leading 17-10, Carolinas Brandon LaFell broke free in Atlanta territory for a big gain but had the ball punched out from behind by cornerback Asante Samuel. The Falcons had a chance to recover, but the ball bounced right back into LaFells arms while he was on the ground. Newton scored on an 8-yard run on the next play to give Carolina a 24-10 lead with nine minutes remaining. "When youre winning, things happen in your favour," LaFell said. "With all of the bad luck around here last year, that thing would have been lost. We got the luck of the bounce." The Panthers put the game away on the next possession when Florence stepped in front of Ryans pass in the flat and returned it for the score -- the first "pick 6" allowed by the Falcons since 2010, a span of 47 games. "If you play sports long enough, there will be ups and downs, and waves throughout that," Ryan said. "Ive played poorly before, but its about trying to stop that at one, and moving on. I wasnt able to do that." Carolina led 14-10 at halftime despite the two interceptions by Newton. Newtons 13-quarter streak of turnover-free football ended when he went long for Ted Ginn Jr. and was intercepted by Desmond Trufant in the second quarter. Newton turned it over again in the final seconds of the first half on an interception by rookie Robert Alford in the back of the end zone, ending a golden scoring opportunity. Atlantas only touchdown of the game came when Ryan hooked up on a 17-yard strike with Gonzalez in the back of the end zone. The Falcons might have had more, but Steven Jacksons 2-yard touchdown run was nullified on a holding penalty on lineman Garrett Reynolds forcing the Falcons to settle for a Matt Bryant field goal. NOTES: The Panthers lost starting right guard Chris Scott and backup Jeff Byers to injuries on Sunday, forcing them to use former defensive tackle Nate Chandler at that spot. ... The Panthers have led at halftime in all eight games this season. ... 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With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Trevor Hildenberger Jersey . The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years. Rod Carew Twins Jersey . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D.PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Steven Lorentz snapped a 2-2 tie in the third period to lead the Peterborough Petes to a 5-2 win over the Oshawa Generals on Thursday in Ontario Hockey League. Peterborough (27-28-5) had a 2-0 lead in the second period before the Generals (39-17-5) tied the game with a pair of power-play goals from Hunter Smith. Greg Betzold opened the scoring for Peterborough in the first period, and Nelson Armstrong made it 2-0 with a power play goal in the second. Anthony Stefano added to the lead in the third period and Nick Ritchie added an empty netter. Andrew DAgostini made 25 saves for Peterborough, and Daniel Altshuller stopped 28 shots for Oshawa. --- STEELHEADS 3 ICEDOGS 1 ST CATHARINES, Ont. -- Bryson Cianfrone and Josh Burnside both scored and had an assist in the third period as Mississauga downed Niagara. Defenceman Jared Walsh had a power-play goal in the first period for the Steelheads (23-33-4), while Spencer Martin made 31 saves for the win. Jordan Maaletta was the lone scorer for the IceDogs (19-33-8) and Brent Moran stopped 25 shots.dddddddddddd --- STORM 5 BATTALION 3 NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Zack Mitchells goal at 12:53 of the third period was the eventual winner as Guelph held off a late charge by the Battalion. Stephen Pierog, Robby Fabbri, Jason Dickinson and Kerby Rychel rounded out the scoring for the Storm (46-10-3). Matthew Mancina made 34 saves. Barclay Goodrow and Connor Jarvis both scored in the last six minutes to bring North Bay (32-22-6) to within a goal. Vincent Praplan and Miles Liberati also scored for the Battalion, while Brendan ONeill turned aside 23 shots. --- SPITFIRES 4 COLTS 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Sam Povorozniouk and Ryan Foss both had power-play goals as the Spitfires flew past Barrie. Remy Giftopoulos and Ben Johnson also scored for Windsor (36-22-3), while Dalen Kuchmey made 27 saves for the win. Kevin Labanc had the only goal for the Colts (31-26-3) and Daniel Gibl stopped 14 shots. ' ' '