CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- showed he has no intention of changing the way he plays the game.The fourth-year quarterback shook off some early rust and returned to his fearle s style of play, helping Carolina defeat the 24-7 on Sunday, capping a distraction-filled week for the .In his first start since fracturing his ribs in a preseason game, Newton Harry Gilles III Jersey threw for 281 yards and a touchdown and ran for 19 yards on four carries, He helped the improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2008 and grab sole po se sion of first place in the NFC South.Newton shook off a slow start and completed 22 of 34 pa ses and overcame five sacks."I felt like I was getting antsy early on and that comes from a lack of playing time," Newton said. "... I was getting my feet back under me and as the game went on I started feeling more comfortable and it showed."Wearing a thick flak jacket, it took a while for Newton to find his stride.He scrambled from the pocket on one second-quarter run and dived headfirst instead of sliding. It was similar to the play against New England on Aug. 22 that left him with cracked ribs and sidelined him for the season opener against Tampa Bay.Later in the fourth quarter Newton ran again, turning the corner inside the 5 and diving toward the pylon."He is obviously going to be sore," coach said. "He can't help himself (and) he ran a couple of times. He did the best he could with it. The thing that I'm pleased with is once he got the rust off he settled down and made some really good decisions."Earlier in the day Rivera made a difficult decision to Zach Collins Jersey deactivate defensive end , saying that the NFL "culture has changed" and the team needed to make the right decision. The decision came one Hassan Whiteside Jersey day after the announced they would deactivate , who was indicted on child abuse charges on Saturday.Hardy was convicted July 15 on two counts of domestic violence and Rivera didn't think it was right to allow him to play given the events of the week."It was my decision and it was in the best interest of the ," Rivera said.Carolina's defense didn't seem to mi s a beat.The had three takeaways, four sacks and held the scorele s in the first half one week after and company put up 35 points against the . helped fill the void left by Hardy with 2 sacks, and cornerback had 10 tackles, two forced fumbles and a recovery.The were a plus-3 in the turnover battle for the second straight week."We turned the ball over too many times, particularly in scoring territory," coach said.The (1-1) took a 7-6 lead early in the third quarter when Stafford connected on a 1-yard touchdown pa s to fullback , who bowled over NFL Defensive Player of the Year en route to the end zone.But the lead was short-lived.Newton bounced back, leading the on an eight-play, Pau Gasol Jersey 72-yard drive, connecting on his first TD pa s of the season, a 14-yard strike to on a slant route. tipped a deep ball from Stafford and intercepted to set up Carolina's next score. Rookie wide receiver , who struggled with dropped balls all day, hauled in a one-handed grab along the left sideline. capped the drive with a 2-yard run and Newton threw to for a 2-point conversion to put Carolina up 21-7.The put the game away in the fourth quarter when fumbled a kickoff that kicker recovered. Gano added his third field goal of the game for the final score.The failed to take advantage of their scoring opportunities in the first half, setting the tone for the game. Rookie mi sed two field goals, fumbled in Carolina territory and Johnson dropped a potential TD catch."When you don't take advantage of your opportunities you mi s chances and turn the ball over, you're not Kent Bazemore Jersey going to have a good day," Stafford said.NOTES: Newton apologized to defensive tackle after the game, saying he didn't mean anything offensive earlier in the week when he referred to him as "Donkey Kong Suh." ... Caldwell said he "won't make any rash decisions" on whether to keep Freese as the kicker after his two mi ses. ... cornerback was carted off the field with a foot injury and did not return.Copyright 2014 by The A sociated Pre sRelive 's performance against the with

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