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CHARLOTTE — His latest NFL loss just minutes old, Cam Newton sat motionless facing his locker with his head in his hands.

Receiver Steve Smith sat in the chair to his right, quietly talking to the Carolina Panthers' rookie quarterback as Newton stared at the floor.

One thing is clear: the No. 1 overall draft pick is having a hard time dealing with losses.

And blowing a fourth-quarter lead in a 30-27 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday might've been the most frustrating so far.

"I mean, you've got standards," Newton said. "And when you don't meet that quota on yourself, you just ask yourself why. There's a reason we keep losing. And I want to know the reason."

Newton threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers (1-4), including the go-ahead 5-yard scoring pass to Greg Olsen for a 27-23 lead with 12:32 to play.

He also scored on a sneak late in the third quarter. But he didn't increase the lead after getting the ball back with about 10 minutes left, and his final chance for a winning drive reached only midfield before ending with his desperation heave downfield that fell incomplete.

All four of the Panthers' losses have come by seven or fewer points.

"More than anything else, he gives them hope, and confidence, and a chance to win, each time they play," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "That's the biggest difference in them right now."

For the Saints, Drew Brees found Pierre Thomas wide open on the right side for a 6-yard touchdown with 50 seconds left to earn the win.

Newton seemed poised to deliver an impressive win against Brees and the Saints, starting when he bulled his way through a pile up at the goal line for a 1-yard keeper late in the third that cut New Orleans' lead to 23-20.

Then, after Brees' high pass for Graham bounced off the tight end's outstretched right arm and into the arms of Sherrod Martin, Newton came through again.

This time, with the Panthers facing a third-and-goal, he zipped a pass to Olsen just inside the goal line for the lead.

Newton even got the ball back with the lead and a chance to work on the clock with about 10 minutes left.

But the Panthers managed to burn only three minutes and reach midfield before punting back to the Saints -- and Brees made them pay.

The game had a near fight when Newton found Smith for a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Newton stepped up in the pocket -- aided by a block from Jonathan Stewart that flipped blitzer Jonathan Vilma over his shoulder -- and fired a high pass downfield to Smith. Smith jumped to beat cornerback Jabari Greer to the pass, knocking Greer to the ground and giving Smith an easy 30-yard run to the end zone.

But as Smith coasted the final 5 yards and crossed the goal line, safety Roman Harper sprinted in on the left side and leveled Smith with a hard hit.

Smith immediately jumped up and flipped the ball to the turf defiantly while players from both sides ran down and began shoving each other.

Smith locked up with safety Malcolm Jenkins, shoving him to the ground and standing over him while holding a firm grip on Jenkins' facemask before the scuffle ended.

Harper's late hit was the only penalty called.

New Orleans 10 10 3 7 — 30
Carolina 6 7 7 7 — 27

NO—Collins 1 pass from Brees (Kasay kick)

NO—FG Kasay 23

Car—Smith 54 pass from Newton (kick blocked)

NO—Ingram 1 run (Kasay kick)

Car—D.Williams 69 run (Mare kick)

NO—FG Kasay 46

NO—FG Kasay 37

Car—Newton 1 run (Mare kick)

Car—Olsen 5 pass from Newton (Mare kick)

NO—P.Thomas 6 pass from Brees (Kasay kick)

A—72,679.

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs — New Orleans 27, Carolina 20

Total net yards — New Orleans 44, Carolina 381

Rushes-yards — New Orleans 28-101, Carolina 22-162

Passing — New Orleans 343, Carolina 219

Punt returns — New Orleans 1-0, Carolina 1-9

Kickoff returns — New Orleans 0-0, Carolina 2-36

Interceptions ret. — New Orleans 1-25, Carolina 1-1

Comp-Att-Int — New Orleans 32-45-1, Carolina 16-31-1

Sacked-Yards lost — New Orleans 2-16, Carolina 1-5

Punts — New Orleans 2-45.0, Carolina 3-44.0

Fumbles-Lost — New Orleans 0-0, Carolina 1-0

Penalties-Yards — New Orleans 9-82, Carolina 7-65

Time of possession — New Orleans 34:40, Carolina 25:20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

New Orleans—Sproles 11-51, Ingram 9-32, P.Thomas 7-18, Collins 1-0.

Carolina—D.Williams 9-115, Newton 7-27, Stewart 6-20.

PASSING

New Orleans—Brees 32-45-1-359.

Carolina—Newton 16-31-1-224.

RECEIVING

New Orleans—Graham 8-129, Colston 5-69, Sproles 5-40, Meachem 4-38, Moore 3-30, P.Thomas 3-24, Ingram 2-17, Henderson 1-11, Collins 1-1.

Carolina—Naanee 4-63, Smith 3-79, Olsen 3-21, Shockey 3-21, LaFell 1-20, Stewart 1-13, Felton 1-7.