Welcome Matt: Matthews, Sproles lead Eagles to huge win over Panthers

The Eagles have done some home cooking at Lincoln Financial Field this season, but nothing like what they did to the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.

They rolled from the beginning and never let up, taking the ball away from the Panthers and capitalizing.

The game was over at the half, but the Eagles added a few more points to cap a huge 45-21 win over the Panthers on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles opened the scoring following a fumble recovery by Cedric Thornton, stalling in the redzone and settling for a 39-yard field goal by Cody Parkey.

On their next offensive possession, the Eagles drove downfield before Darren Sproles finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers followed putting together their best drive of the game, scoring on the 11th play with a one-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Stewart.

The Eagles answered late following the next Panthers drive, as Sproles found a hole and returned the punt 65 yards for a touchdown.

The Eagles opened the scoring in the second on an 18-yard pass from Mark Sanchez to Jordan Matthews.

Late in the second, the Eagles capped a huge half with another turnover, as Bradley Fletcher intercepted a Cam Newton pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. It was the Eagles ninth return touchdown of the season by either a defense or special teams player, setting a new franchise record.

The Eagles continued to roll into the fourth quarter. The only points of the third quarter came on a one-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy. Early in the fourth, Sanchez found Matthews for another 18-yard touchdown to cap the Eagles scored.

Newton connected with Kelvin Benjamin for two touchdowns in the fourth to salvage an otherwise poor day and cap the scoring for the game.

The Eagles posted 365 total yards of offense compared to 317 for the Panthers. Both teams used the pass for a majority of the yardage. The Eagles had just 37 yards rushing. The Panthers had 102 as a team.

The Eagles forced five turnovers – three interceptions and two fumbles – and sacked Newton nine times. Connor Barwin had 3 1/2 sacks. Brandon Graham had 1 1/2 sacks.

Sanchez was 20-for-37 for 332 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. McCoy led the Eagles in rushing with 19 yards on 12 carries. Matthews led the receivers with 138 yards on seven catches and two touchdowns. Brent Celek added 116 yards on five catches.

Newton was 25-for-40 for 306 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Stewart and DeAngelo Williams posted 36 and 31 yards respectively. Stewart rushed for one touchdown. Greg Olson led the receivers with 119 yards on six catches. Benjamin had 70 yards and two touchdowns on three catches. 

The Panthers ran 19 more plays than the Eagles and had four more first downs than the Eagles, controlling the possession game. Despite that, the Eagles scored 24 points off Carolina turnovers.

The Eagles improved to 7-2 with the win and continue to hold a half-game lead in the NFC East as a result.

Next week, the Eagles are in Green Bay to face the Packers. The opening kick-off is set for 4:25 p.m.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.