CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- The Carolina Panthers started strong and collapsed in 2002. But they didn't have Stephen Davis and that may be the difference.
Davis rushed for a season-high 159 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers improved to 4-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 19-13 victory over the struggling New Orleans Saints.
The Panthers won their first three games under coach John Fox in 2002, but then wilted, losing their next eight games. They did recover to win four of their final five games to finish 7-9. In the offseason, Carolina signed Davis, who spent his first seven years with the Washington Redskins.
The move has certainly paid off. Davis has rushed for 565 yards and is the first player in franchise history to start a season with four straight 100-yard rushing games.
In this one, he shook off a slow start and gained 145 yards over the final three quarters, including a one-yard score with 12:20 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Panthers a 16-3 lead.
"I'm having a lot of fun," Davis said. "Guys up front are doing a great job making holes. We are getting a lot of yards rushing. Guys are making plays. It's just fun. We are having fun with winning. I think the thing we have to do is keep getting better."
"Stephen is 90 percent of it," Carolina guard Kevin Donnalley said. "He's just a stud and runs the ball so well. It's a maturing process. The team is learning, dealing with different situations where we didn't last year. Stephen got some good yards and we wore them out by the third and fourth quarter. He's the main reason we are doing so much better this year."
The Panthers picked up their third straight division win and got another efficient effort from former Saint Jake Delhomme, who completed 15-of-23 passes for 124 yards in his first start against his former team.
New Orleans (1-4), which was denied a playoff spot last season when it lost in the final week to Carolina, has dropped three in a row.
Davis, who played high school football in nearby Spartanburg South Carolina, was cut by Washington after gaining 820 yards in 12 games in Steve Spurrier's "Fun-N-Gun" offense. It was the first time since 1998 he failed to rush for 1,000 yards.
But he recorded his 23rd career 100-yard game on Sunday and is on pace to gain nearly 1,700 yards.
The Panthers never trailed as John Kasay kicked two field goals and Rod Smart - known as "He Hate Me" from the defunct XFL - returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score.
Although they lost for the seventh time in eight games dating to last December 8, the Saints showed improvement and had chances. They got in the red zone with 2:24 remaining when Deuce McAllister caught a 16-yard pass, but had to settle for John Carney's 26-yard field goal, pulling them within 19-13.
While New Orleans was driving, Davis was in the locker room fighting cramps. But after the Panthers recovered Carney's onside kick, Davis carried three more times and his 30th and final carry gave the Panthers a first down, allowing them to run out the clock.
"That was tough," Davis said. "It was a tough 10 yards. It was late in the game and we needed it."
The win was a confidence-booster for Carolina, which was reminded of last season's 3-0 start and collapse all week in practice.
"It's a good spot to be," Fox said. "You can't be any better than that. It's still what it is. It's still the end of the first quarter. Nobody remembers the score at the end of the first quarter."
McAllister gained 124 yards and had four catches for 59 yards, while Aaron Brooks performed well, completing 16-of-31 passes for 189 yards. Among the passes was a 21-yard TD to Joe Horn with 5:59 to play in the third, which was the first against the Panthers since the second quarter of their season opener vs. Jacksonville.
"Things went wrong, we will continue to plug away," Brooks said. "There were some bright spots, we got to continue to plug away. We played together as a team, probably the best we played all year. We are not where we want to be but we are working to get there."
"We really came out of it pretty well," Saints coach Jim Haslett added. "These guys, I thought they fought hard today. On both sides of the ball, I thought we played hard. I thought we stuck together. These guys are not going to give up."
But after Horn's catch, Davis gained 41 more yards, including a 27-yard rush that got the Panthers near midfield. The drive stalled on 2nd-and-4 at the New Orleans 4 when Muhsin Muhammad was called for a false start but the Panthers salvaged it when Kasay booted a 23-yard field goal.
Carolina opened the scoring by moving 51 yards on its first possession. The Panthers nearly lost the ball when receiver Steve Smith's fumble was recovered by Saints safety Victor Green. But Fox challenged and the play was reversed leading to a 49-yard field goal by Kasay.
McAllister highlighted New Orleans' first scoring drive with a 39-yard reception and Donte Stallworth added a 15-yard catch. But the drive stalled inside the red zone and the Saints settled for Carney's 38-yard field goal with 13:37 remaining in the second half.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Smart eluded several tackles and raced up the middle for his first career touchdown.
Neither team scored the rest of the half as Brooks was picked off by cornerback Reggie Howard at the New Orleans 29 and Davis lost a fumble inside the 20.
With two seconds left in the first half, Carolina had a chance to take a 10-point lead, but Carney's 57-yard attempt hit the left upright.
But on the Panthers' first possession of the second half, they ran six plays for Davis, who picked up 48 yards. They faked the extra point but Todd Sauerbrun's two-point conversion attempt to defensive end Al Wallace failed.
