NEW ORLEANS -- After Drew Brees broke another NFL record with his latest 400-plus-yard passing performance, he stood on a podium and moved his right hand in an ascending motion while discussing the direction of the New Orleans Saints.We want to be on this trajectory, Brees said as he moved his hand up and away from his body. I feel like we are.Brees passed for 465 yards and four touchdowns, Wil Lutz kicked a 52-yard field goal with 11 seconds left, and New Orleans pulled out a 41-38 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.With his 15th 400-yard game, Brees broke a tie with Peyton Manning for the most all time in the regular season.Brees also led the Saints (2-3) to a second straight victory while Carolina (1-5) lost its fourth straight despite the return of quarterback Cam Newton, who missed last weeks loss to Tampa Bay because of a concussion.Newton passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 2-yard score and threw a 2-point conversion to Devin Funchess that tied the game at 38 with 2:58 left, completing a comeback from an early 21-0 deficit.However, Newton was also intercepted by Sterling Moore in the back of the end zone, stalling a promising first-half drive.Newton had little to say afterward, offering terse, vague answers to media inquiries or simply saying, next question. His demeanor nonetheless left little doubt how displeased he was with yet another close loss.Meanwhile, the quarterbacks coaches and teammates made it clear Newtons performance was the least of their concerns.He made some really good decisions, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. When you score 38 points, you need to give yourself more of a chance to win.Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly credited Carolinas offense for playing well and added, We just have to tighten some things up defensively. We just have to make a play.Tight end Josh Hill scored the Saints final TD on a difficult, leaping 8-yard catch that was initially ruled incomplete.But coach Sean Payton challenged the call and officials ruled on review that Hill had possession long enough for a completion before defensive back Zack Sanchez knocked the ball from Hills grasp.Brees didnt seem bothered that the Saints needed all of his prolific production to win and nearly squandered a three- TD lead.These are defining wins. These are wins you can draw from as the season goes along and really get a lot of strength from, Brees said. It gives you great confidence and poise when situations arise in the future.UNCONVENTIONAL TDSCoby Fleener ran for a 2-yard touchdown on his first career carry -- an end-around on a fourth-and-1 play that capped New Orleans opening drive. He also caught a 50-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter on a play that Brees said didnt quite develop as drawn up because Fleener and receiver Willie Snead ran their routes too close together, causing a convergence of players over the middle.All of a sudden all these bodies were in this melee and heres Coby, coming down with it and taking it the distance, Brees said. It worked out nicely.CLUTCH KICKINGLutzs winning kick came after hed missed an earlier attempt from 53 yards. Lutz said that the moment Carolina tied it at 38, he told punter Thomas Morstead, who also holds on field goals, and long snapper Justin Drescher, Lets go win the game.Like Ive been saying all year -- its about the next kick, Lutz said.TOP TARGETSSaints receiver Brandin Cooks had an 87-yard touchdown catch to highlight his career-high 173-yard outing on seven catches. Saints rookie Michael Thomas caught his third touchdown pass in as many games. Fleener had six catches for 74 yards.Funchess caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Newton and Carolina tight end Ed Dickson hauled in a 1-yard TD that Newton tossed as he scrambled to his left.PENALTY PRONEThe Saints were flagged for pass interference three times at or near the goal line, and the Panthers cashed in all three times with touchdowns. In all, New Orleans had 10 penalties for 126 yards.Panthers penalties included Kawann Shorts unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for leveling Brees after his touchdown toss to Hill.It looked like he straight punched me in the mouth, Brees said. Thats what it felt like.BACK IN ACTIONPanthers running back Jonathan Stewart returned after missing three games with a hamstring injury and rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries, including two short touchdowns in the fourth quarter.Hill played for the first time since injuring his ankle in Week 1.INJURIESSaints left tackle Andrus Peat, who was filling in for injured starter Terron Armstead, left the game late in the first half with an apparent left leg injury. He was replaced by veteran Tony Hills. ... Saints rookie defensive tackle David Onyemata also appeared to have a leg injury after a pileup near the New Orleans goal line in the fourth quarter and gingerly walked off the field. ... Panthers cornerback Daryl Worley was evaluated for a possible concussion.NEXT UPPanthers: Carolina has a bye week to try to figure out how to reverse its sinking fortunes.Saints: New Orleans travels to Kansas City next Sunday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Wholesale Titans Jerseys . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Cheap Titans Jerseys China . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. http://www.cheaptitansjerseyselite.com/ . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Cheap Titans Jerseys Authentic . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Cheap Titans Jerseys . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forests guards did what theyre supposed to do -- make shots, take care of the ball and pass it to teammates who can score. The result: Another lopsided win to open the season.Keyshawn Woods scored 22 points with five of Wake Forests 13 3-pointers in a 94-74 win over Bucknell on Sunday.John Collins added 19 points and Mitchell Wilbekin had 13 to help the Demon Deacons (2-0) sweep a short, season-opening homestand, with this win coming less than 48 hours after a 21-point rout of Radford.Dinos Mitoglou finished with 11 points and Austin Arians had 10 for Wake Forest, which shot 50 percent both from the field and behind the arc, while matching a high for 3-pointers under third-year coach Danny Manning. The Demon Deacons also made 13 in a loss at Virginia Tech last January .Youre not going to shoot 50 percent from the 3-point line on a regular basis, Manning said. Were going to have to make shots throughout the course of the year to have success.Another stat may have thrilled him even more: Wake Forests four guards -- Bryant Crawford, Brandon Childress, Woods and Wilbekin -- combined for 16 assists and no turnovers. Eight of those assists belonged to Crawford.Ill take that every game, Manning said.Zach Thomas scored 16 points and Kimbal Mackenzie finished with 15 for the Bison (1-1), who shot 45 percent and clawed back into the game by turning 15 offensive rebounds into 22 second-chance points.Manning has said this is the best outside shooting team hes had in Winston-Salem, and it was hard to argue against that while the Demon Deacons made seven of their first nine 3-pointers to put Bucknell in an early hole.After the Bison pulled within single digits for the final time early in the second half, Wake Forest hit three more 3s in the span of four possessions -- including a four-point play by Arians -- to build a comfortable lead it wouldnt give back.ddddddddddddEvery time we made a mistake, and sometimes when we didnt, they made it, Bucknell coach Nathan Davis said.BIG PICTUREBucknell: Though they still havent beaten a team in the Atlantic Coast Conference at the time since 1961, the Bison showed signs that they will be a factor in the Patriot League race with a knack for getting to loose balls and turning them into buckets. But fouls were a problem for the Bison, who had two players pick up their fourth fouls in the first half. Davis said his team showed a lot of character in clawing back from 16 points down and had a chance to make it interesting.Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons took care of business this weekend with those two easy wins to get them prepared for even bigger challenges at the Charleston Classic -- where well surely learn more about what this teams ceiling ultimately is. Defending national champion Villanova likely awaits in a later round.STAT SHEETWake Forest was 23 of 29 from the free-throw line while Bucknell was just 5 of 9.TIP-INSBucknell fell to 11-52 against current ACC members with nine of those wins coming against Pittsburgh -- all before the Panthers joined their new league. ... This was just the seventh time under Manning that Wake Forest reached double figures in 3-pointers.UP NEXTBucknell: The Bison return home to face Robert Morris on Wednesday night before beginning play in the Las Vegas Invitational.Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons head to Charleston, South Carolina, for three games in the Charleston Classic, starting with a matchup with UTEP on Thursday.---Follow Joedy McCreary at http://twitter.com/joedyap---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '