New Orleans put the clamps on Cam Newton and the Saints beat the Carolina Panthers 12-9 on Monday Night Football to take a big step toward locking up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
The Saints' defence held the Panthers' quarterback to 131 yards passing, sacked him four times and forced two turnovers.
New Orleans' running back Alvin Kamara had 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown and quarterback Drew Brees had 203 yards passing for the Saints, who improve to 12-2 and now have a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC.
The Panthers, who opened the NFL season at 6-2, have now lost six straight.