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1. Panthers had no answer for Michael Thomas
The second-year wideout enjoyed a monster day. He caught all five of Brees’ completions for 50 yards, including a 5-yard scoring reception, to set the tone on the Saints’ 13-play, 74-yard opening touchdown drive. Thomas finished with seven catches for 87 yards and a TD.

2. Larry Warford was dominant
The powerful guard was the Saints’ most lucrative offseason investment, and he’s proven to be a worthwhile one so far. He showed his all-around athletic ability with a nice block to spring Mark Ingram for a key first-down conversion run, and then he got downfield on a screen pass to clear a path for Ingram on a 25-yard gain. He was one of the main reasons Saints ball carriers averaged 5.9 yards a carry in the first half. Overall, the Saints rushed for 149 yards on 27 attempts.

3. 2016 version of P.J. Williams might be back
The third-year cornerback looked like a shell of himself as he struggled in the Saints’ first two games, but he came up big against the Panthers. His instinctive read and interception of Cam Newton in the second quarter set up the Saints’ second touchdown. It was the kind of play Saints defensive backs have rarely exhibited over the years, and it was a refreshing to see.

4. End-of-half clock management remains a mystery
For the record, I liked Sean Payton’s aggressiveness at the end of the first half against the Vikings. His use of timeouts eventual backfired and led to a Minnesota TD, but I liked the calls. But there’s no excuse for allowing the clock to tick down to seven seconds after Brees was sacked on second down on the Saints’ final drive of the first half. The Saints lost a chance to run another play and perhaps score another touchdown because of the inexcusable mistake.

5. Drew Brees is still Drew Brees
Drew Brees has enjoyed some monster days against Carolina, but few were more important than this one. The Saints needed Brees to play big and he delivered with a masterful performance, riddling Carolina’s zone coverage for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Most important, he didn’t thrown an interception for the third consecutive game this season (thanks largely to Luke Kuechly’s uncharacteristic drop in the third quarter). Brees was the difference in this game.

6. Sean Payton deserves to take a bow
For the first time this season, the Saints' head coach looked like the guy considered to be the best play caller in the NFL. His creative offensive game plan had the Panthers' defense on its heels all day, putting up 369 total yards against one of the NFL's stingiest units. It added up to the Saints’ most efficient offensive performance of the season.

7. Welcome back, Ken Crawley
The second-year cornerback was a revelation in his first game of the season. He made six tackles and had several nice plays in coverage. Crawley had a nice tackle for loss on a bubble screen and led the team with two pass breakups. He finished with a team-high nine tackles (eight solo). Crawley was so good it made you wonder why he wasn’t on the active roster until now.

8. Players made a strong pregame statement about unity
The Saints joined many of their NFL brethren in using the pregame national anthem to make a strong display of unity. Rafael Bush, Kenny Vaccaro, Chris Banjo, Alex Okafor, Sheldon Rankins, Cameron Jordan and Brandon Coleman were among the players that elected to sit during the national anthem. Thomas Morstead, Coby Fleener and Craig Robertson stood but placed their arms on the shoulder pads of sitting teammates. Owners Tom and Gayle Benson also released a statement condemning President Trump’s comments, calling them “disappointing and inappropriate relative to our players on this issue.” I liked the message the Saints sent and the way they delivered it.

9. Panthers were a fraudulent 2-0
Not to take anything away from the Saints' big win, but the Panthers were clearly one of the shakiest 2-0 teams in the NFL. Their wins against the 49ers and Bills look telling in the wake of Sunday’s performance. With Cam Newton struggling, Carolina will have a tough task to break .500 this season.

10. Saints were the more desperate team
To say the Saints were desperate for a win would be an understatement. They could not afford another setback and no one in the Black and Gold wanted to fly to England at 0-3. They outplayed the Panthers from the outset, and the victory should bolster their confidence. They played with energy and passion and deserved to win.