Panthers vs. Saints 2015 final score: Cam Newton throws 5 touchdowns as Carolina clinches 3rd straight NFC South title

The Carolina Panthers are still undefeated thanks to a late comeback in a road game with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Cam Newton and Drew Brees traded punches for a thriller that ultimately ended with the Panthers leaving the field with a 41-38 win, their 12th win of the season.

New Orleans jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, converting a Jonathan Stewart fumble into their second touchdown of the day ... a rare bright spot for the Saints defense. The Panthers answered in the second, scoring two of their own, but instead of tying the game, the Saints blocked the extra points and returned it for a defensive two-point conversion, the first in NFL history.

The Saints took a 38-34 lead with five minutes left to play. It looked like the Panthers were in trouble when the Saints had them on fourth-and-4 with two minutes left, but Newton found Greg Olsen for a 16-yard gain, which held up after review ... because no catch is just a catch in the NFL anymore. Three plays later, the Newton found Jericho Cotchery for the game-winner.

Carolina is the ninth team of the Super Bowl era to win their first 12 games of the season. Of the either teams that have done it before, six of them went on to the Super Bowl. Overall, it’s 16 regular season wins in a row for the Panthers, going back to last season, which is an NFC record.

The win clinches a playoff spot and another NFC South title for the Panthers, who have now won their division three seasons in a row. Carolina is also in the driver’s seat for one of the top two seeds in the NFC, giving them a first-round bye and home-field advantage for at least one round. The Cardinals, at 10-2, are the next best team in the NFC.

1. Super Cam is really damn super

Is Cam Newton at the top of your MVP ballot yet? He probably should be. Newton almost singlehandedly willed the Panthers to a win against the Saints this week. Most weeks, he gets a little help from Carolina’s defense, but that unit struggled to keep Drew Brees and the Saints bottled up in this one.

Trailing by four points, Newton hit Cotchery for a 15-yard touchdown take the lead one last time.

Newton finished the game 28-for-41 with 331 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. This was his second five-touchdown game of his career and his second in just three weeks.

2. Ted Ginn really isn’t a No. 1 receiver

What Newton’s managed to do this season with a pretty weak supporting cast at receiver is nothing short of amazing. But there’s only so much a quarterback can do, even a guy like Cam Newton, when his top receiving option in Ted Ginn. The nine-year veteran dropped two passes that should have been touchdowns, including one late in the fourth quarter that could have helped wrap things up.

To be clear, Ginn still finished the game with a pair of scores and 80 yards. He’s really gone above and beyond our very modest expectations for him this season, but it was especially clear this week that the Panthers would really be rolling right now if Newton had a go-to receiver in the lineup instead of making due with the spare parts around him.

3. The Saints can still score points

It’s been a pretty hopeless season for the New Orleans Saints. They already fired their defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, and the defense hasn’t really improved without him. But they still have Drew Brees, and even though Brees has looked mortal at times this season, he can still pull 40 points out of his hat.

It was vintage Brees, sort of, as he finished with

It’s possible that the Saints could still make a run at one of the NFC wild card spots, however unlikely it is (we have to say that because it’s mathematically true). They could play spoiled, but their remaining schedule isn’t loaded with playoff teams.

SB Nation presents: Cam Newton goes out of way to give fan a souvenir