In a battle of two 4-1 teams, it was ultimately the that were able to make more plays, topping the , 28-23, in the Panthers' own stadium.We wrote earlier this week that the Eagles' hot start if they were able to beat the Panthers in Carolina on Thursday night, and well, they came out and did just that. Beating the 4-1 Panthers at home and slowing down an offense that had been really humming along is a heck of a lot different than squeaking by the then-winle s and , or beating up on a banged-up team. This is one of the best wins of the young season, by any Denver Nuggets T-Shirts team.Philadelphia's defense kept pre sure on all night long, making sure he never got comfortable in the pocket like he did as the Carolina offense took off over the last couple weeks. (more on him later), rookie , and especially, linebackers and were simply all over the field all night long. The Philadelphia front seven overwhelmingly won its battle with the Panthers' offensive line, and it made all the difference in the world.But it wasn't just the defense that won this one for the Eagles. The offense did its part, winning the scoring and yardage battles despite losing time of po se sion. didn't get off to a great start, but he rebounded quickly and finished with a line that showcased his combination of efficiency and explosivene s: 16 of 30 for 222 yards, three touchdowns (his second career three-TD game, after he got his first last week), and most importantly, no interceptions. ran well, ticking off early-down yardage. and picked up key first downs. Rookie had two timely catches. found the end zone twice. All the things the Eagles did to make Wentz's job easier paid off in a big way, and it led to a win over a quality opponent.Here are a few more things to know about Philly's 28-23 win.Carson Wentz is making the leapThe focus of one of our was whether or not this year's version of the Eagles is "for real." Last year's vintage started 3-0 behind a strong defense and better-than-expected play from Carson Wentz, but promptly fell apart after a Week 4 bye.One of the points in favor of this year's team being legit was Wentz's improved play in the first five games of 2017. That continued on Thursday night. Wentz was running for his life for half the evening, but he Denver Nuggets Hats managed to repeatedly escape pre sure and make several under throws under dure s. He found Zach Ertz for two scores, the second of which was just a gorgeous throw. Wentz to Ertz for the second time!Beautiful throw and catch for the TD. NFL (@NFL) He made a beautiful sideline to s to Alshon Jeffery late in the third quarter, spotting one-on-one coverage and hitting him perfectly in stride to set up a touchdown to Nelson Agholor later in the drive. Alshon! goes DEEP to down the sideline. NFL (@NFL) Wide open.And takes the Wentz pa s all the way! NFL (@NFL) Wentz as has become his custom this season was also able to do damage on third down, completing 5 of 10 pa ses for 68 yards and a touchdown. He was terrific.A tale of two run gamesCam Newton finished the game with 11 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown, a play on which he just destroyed the Eagles . keeps it...And that JUKE.TD ! NFL (@NFL) SUPERCAM. NFL (@NFL) He should've had another touchdown later on, but the refs called him out of bounds inside the 1-yard line. This play should have been called a touchdown on replay review, but was not.No matter, Cam threw a touchdown Isaiah Hartenstein Jersey to on the next play.Speaking of McCaffrey: While the Eagles were gashed on the ground by Newton, the front seven completely shut down the Panthers' trio of running backs on all of their carries. CMC, , and Fozzy Whitaker (who left the game with an injury) combined to carry the ball 13 times for a total of 1 yard. It was ugly.Return of Fletcher CoxFletcher Cox returned from a two-game absence and was straight up dominant, especially in the first half. He ate 's lunch, and Trai Turner is Cam is hit as he throws...And it's PICKED. with the INT! NFL (@NFL) Here's a close-up of that play courtesy of our own Will Brinson. Fletcher Cox put Turner on roller skates Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) Wooooo yeah. Cox ended the night with two QB hits, a pa s defensed, half a sack, and several other plays where he affected Cam Newton's throws. He's back.Cam cools down (through the air)Cam Newton came into this game red hot, having completed 48 of 62 pa ses for 671 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception (and rushing for 44 yards and another score) over his last two games, wins over the and on the road. He cooled down considerably in this one, though, finishing just 28 of 52 for 239 yards, one touchdown, and three picks. Cam is hit as he throws...And it's PICKED. with the INT! NFL (@NFL) He intercepted that?!?!? NFL (@NFL) HUGE INT! picks off Cam Newton. NFL (@NFL) Neither of the first two picks was nece sarily his fault, with the first coming on a play where he was hit as making the throw, and the second coming on a play where Jonathan Stewart dropped the ball into ' hands, but he also had a pick taken off the board by a pa s interference penalty, another that went through the hands of Douglas late in the game, and he mi sed high and wide with several other throws. It was a rough night throwing the ball, for the most part. No Lane, big problems (at least early)Playing without right tackle , Philadelphia had a ton of problems protecting Carson Wentz, particularly early in the game. dropped Wentz on the first drive Greg Whittington Jersey of the night, forcing a fumble that led to three points on the 150th sack of his career. Julius Peppers!His 150th career sack is also a forced fumble! recover. Michael Porter Jersey NFL (@NFL) Julius Peppers is the only player in NFL history with 150+ sacks (150.0) & 10+ INTs (11) Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) Later, came off the right side with a blitz for a sack, and then after that he knocked into next week on a blitz, nearly sacking Wentz again. The third sack of the half! takes down Wentz. NFL (@NFL) Barner got destroyed in blitz pickup twice on that drive. Three sacks, six QB hits on Wentz so far. Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) Good job, good effort. Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) Things settled down as the night went along, but it was a bit scary for the Eagles early on. Bad break for KuechlyThe Panthers got some really bad news not just for this game, but potentially for the rest of their season when star linebacker left the field in the second quarter. It wasn't initially clear what was wrong (Ron Rivera didn't even know when asked about it heading into the locker room at halftime), but Tracy Wolfson later reported that Kuechly was being evaluated for a concu sion. Horrible news for Luke Keuchly, who has been sidelined by concu sions much in recent years Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) The Panthers later confirmed that Kuechly is in the concu sion protocol Luke Kuechly is out for the game and in the