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NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees saw his face on giant Superdome video boards, then nodded and smiled as a jubilant crowd applauded the star quarterbacks latest milestone and the meaningful way in which he hit it. Brees passed for 313 yards and four touchdowns and New Orleans beat Carolina 31-13 on Sunday night to regain sole possession of first place in the NFC South and snap the Panthers winning streak at eight games. In the process, Brees became the fifth quarterback to eclipse 50,000 career yards passing. "Love this offence. Love what Sean Paytons put together," Brees said. The Panthers defence had not allowed more than two touchdowns in a game this season until the Saints (10-3) scored three in the second quarter alone, when Brees completed 14 of 16 passes for 159 yards. The Saints also became the only team this season to score more than 24 points against Carolina (9-4), which entered the game No. 1 in scoring defence, allowing 13.1 points per game. Brees first two scoring strikes went to Marques Colston, who made nine catches for 125 yards. Jimmy Graham added two TD catches, his second making it 31-6 in the fourth quarter. "We just had great balance," Brees said. "Marques came up with some huge catches, as did Jimmy. The line did a great job ... and the defence did a great job of getting us the ball." New Orleans sacked Cam Newton five times and did not allow a touchdown until 5:15 remained. Junior Galette had three of New Orleans sacks and Cameron Jordan two. The Panthers had the ball for 11:30 of the first quarter, showing an early ability to move the ball in the face of an energized and loud Superdome crowd, but only got two field goals out of it after New Orleans came up with clutch third-down stops, including one on third-and-goal from the 6. "Im surprised and disappointed. Were a better team than we played today," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. "They have the crowd behind them and theyre on turf, not natural grass, which is a little bit different. It helps them as far as their speed and their timing. The things that they do here, they do very well. Well see how things go when they come to Carolina." Last Monday night, New Orleans went to Seattle looking to lead the race for the top playoff seeding in the NFC, only to fall 34-7 and drop into a tie with Carolina atop their division. But the Saints looked like legitimate contenders again in their return home, where they are 7-0. They became the first team not to lose a turnover to the Panthers all season. Brees completed 30 of 42 passes in becoming the first quarterback to pass for at least 4,000 yards in eight straight season and pass for 30 TDs in six straight seasons. New Orleans now owns a one-game lead over the Panthers with three games to go, but travels to Carolina in two weeks. "Here we are, attempting to make another run at it," Brees said. "Obviously, some records and some other things, milestones along the way that you get to share, but Im just glad to be on the journey with this group of guys. Brees best drive began with 2:01 left in the first half and New Orleans at its own 24. He immediately found Lance Moore for 21 yards, Colston for 19 yards and Darren Sproles for 20, setting up Grahams 5-yard TD catch to make it 21-6. Newton was 22 of 34 passing for 160 yards, DeAngelo Williams returned from a quad contusion that sidelined him last week, gaining 52 yards on 13 carries. "It was a great measuring stick for who we are and where we have to go," Newton said. "The best thing about this is we have an opportunity to face this team again in two weeks. Those guys just were better than us today. Are they better than us? No." The Panthers struggled to move the ball on most drives after the first quarter, when Graham Gano hit field goals of 45 and 24 yards. Brees other TDs went for 8 yards to Graham and for 6 and 15 yards to Colston, who was hardly surprised by the QBs quick return to form. "Youve just got to see him throughout the week," Colston said. "The man works like Ive never seen. He deserves every bit of success that he gets." Notes: The other four QBs with 50,000 yards are: Brett Favre with 71,838, Peyton Manning with 64,009, Dan Marino with 61,361 and John Elway with 51,475. ... Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart left the game with a knee injury, the severity of which was not immediately disclosed. Vegas Strong Jersey . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. T.J. Tynan Jersey . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/ .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Oscar Dansk Jersey . Coaches are now allowed to challenge both called and potential defensive pass interference fouls under certain conditions. Malcolm Subban Jersey . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.Carlos Carvalhal said he was proud of his Sheffield Wednesday side following their Sky Bet Championship play-off final defeat to Hull City. A stunning strike from Mo Diame sealed an instant return to the Premier League for the Tigers as the Owls 16-year wait for a top flight return continues. But despite the heartbreak, the Portuguese manager - who was unknown in English football at the start of the season - was delighted with how his side have performed, although did concede that Hull were the better side. Im proud of the players, the club and the fans but at the same time we are unhappy because weve lost the final but football is good when we dream, Carvalhal told Sky Sports. Dejected Sheffield Wednesday players are left on the pitch I must talk in two different ways. One, I think we had a really fantastic season and nobody expected us to finish in this position. Another thing is the final, and we played against a strong team. We fight, we ran, we tried to organise but today Hull were better than us and they deserved to win.Even in the second half, we started to play a little bit better, to press higher up like we usually do but today, in this game, the details make the difference and it was a fantastic goal that did it. But you have to be very good to be at Wembley and although we lose one game in the final, in my opinion, it was with very good quality and we deserve everything we have lived so far, so I am proud.Sheffield Wednesday fans were in fine voice throughout the game, and even stayed behind after the final whistle to applaud their squad, with Carvalhal also praising them for their contribution on Saturday. Highlights of Hull v Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship play-off final The atmosphere was fantastic, as was the emotional reaction we had with the fans so when we finished the game, me and my players are very proud, he added.ddddddddddddOur fans are enjoying the way that we play and its something we want to achieve and continue this kind of work. We want our fans to be proud of the team. They pay for the tickets and they like what they are looking at.I cant say we are happy because we arent but of course, the way that we finished the game and the way that the fans greeted us with a big applause makes us ready for the next season.The Owls will face the likes of Newcastle and Aston Villa next season, as well as other established Championship clubs vying for a promotion spot, but Carvalhal will be taking it game-by-game. Hull Citys midfielder Tom Huddlestone (R) tackles Sheffield Wednesdays English defender Sam Hutchinson (2L) With the Championship, you never know what can happen because its a hard competition. What we want to stay is our brand and quality of football which we usually play better than today, but during the season we play very good football. With the results, you never know with this kind of competition so we must go step-by-step again because next season will be a very tough league with the teams that are relegated and the strong teams that we have in the competition but Im sure we will start next season better than we started this season.I think weve woken up the giant and Sheffield Wednesday have woken up. All the clubs will now respect our club like we deserve. Also See: Diame fires Hull back to the PL As it happened ' ' '