Jake Delhomme's four-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carter midway through the fourth quarter earned the Carolina Panthers a 21-18 win over New Orleans on Sunday, the Saints first loss of the season.

Playing on the road six days after an emotional Monday night rout of Atlanta in their return to the Superdome, the Saints took their first lead early in the fourth quarter.

Then Smith got loose late.

Smith caught three passes for 35 yards on the 91-yard drive. Then with the Saints focusing on Smith and Keyshawn Johnson, Delhomme lobbed a four-yard pass to a wide-open Carter to put Carolina ahead 14-10 with 7:15 left.

DeShaun Foster's 43-yard touchdown run on third down with 1:45 left made it 21-10.

The Saints made it interesting on rookie Marques Colston's 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 1:15 left, and Drew Brees connected with Joe Horn on the two-point convert to make it 21-18.

But Carolina's Nick Goings recovered the onside kick to end it.

Smith, in his second game after hamstring injuries, had 10 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Johnson added six catches for 63 yards as the Panthers (2-2), won their second straight.

Brees was 28-of-38 for 349 yards and a touchdown, Colston had five catches for 132 yards and Horn had five catches for 63 yards for the Saints (3-1), who were trying to go to 4-0 for the first time since 1993.

Rookie Reggie Bush was held to 22 yard on 11 carries and lost a fumble at the Carolina 21-yard line in the second.

Despite being weary emotionally and physically, the Saints stayed in the game, going on an 82-yard drive bridging the third and fourth quarters to take a 10-7 lead on Deuce McAllister's three-yard run.

Twice the Saints had the drive extended by Panthers penalties, including a questionable pass interference call against Thomas Davis on fourth down from the Carolina 35.

The Panthers got a break to take the early lead. Delhomme threw a 15-yard pass over the middle that Johnson bobbled at the nine-yard line. The officials ruled it a catch, and Delhomme quickly got the team to the line of scrimmage and tossed a slant pass to Smith for a touchdown on the next play.

Replays later showed the ball hit the ground before Johnson got control, but Carolina had a 7-0 lead.

The Saints, who sacked Michael Vick five times Monday, sacked Delhomme just once despite the Panthers losing another player on their banged-up offensive line. Left guard Mike Wahle left in the second with an illness and did not return, forcing rookie Will Montgomery into the lineup. Centre Justin Hartwig missed his third straight game with a pulled groin.

The Saints cut the lead to 7-3 on John Carney's 31-yard field goal with 4:05 left in the first half, making him the third kicker in NFL history with 400 career field goals. But the 42-year-old Carney was wide-right on a 43-yard try as the half expired, his first miss in 11 attempts this season.

It was the first meeting as head coaches for the Panthers' John Fox and Sean Payton of the Saints since they were the co-ordinators on the New York Giants team that reached the Super Bowl at the end of the 2000 season.