CHARLOTTE — All day, the Panthers worked to get in Tyler Shough's face. Most of the time, rookie quarterbacks, especially in only their second start in the league, are susceptible to pressure. So Carolina sent pressure.

On the Saints' first passing play of the game, it worked. Trevin Wallace sacked Shough for an 8-yard loss. The second passing play, the next snap, the 26-year-old rookie tucked his shoulder, avoiding Nic Scourton, the next wave from Tershawn Wharton and D.J. Wonnum, then heaved the ball downfield to a wide-open Juwan Johnson, which the tight end turned into a 52-yard gain.

"I guess it just boiled down to execution," offered nickel Chau Smith-Wade. "Whenever you send a blitz and you get your hands on the quarterback, you just have to execute and just finish through with the sack."

The Panthers' defense ended up chasing Shough for most of the day. Pressure would get through the line easily enough, then the QB would find a seam, extra yardage, and make a play happen.

"I think give him a little credit to his escapability," said defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton. "And I think we could communicate up front a little bit more, and we'll be able to contain quarterbacks here coming soon.

"I think he avoided pressure on every explosive that he got, so just help those guys out on the back end with communicating with each other and making sure that we get home."

But finally, in the fourth quarter, Scourton got to his former training partner, in a moment when it mattered most.

New Orleans was facing a fourth-and-3 from the Panthers' 32-yard line. They elected to go for it, having already gone 2-for-2 before that on the day. On an empty set, there was no one to stop the rookie pass-rusher who busted through the line, taking down Shough for a loss of eight yards.

The Panthers' subsequent offensive drive ended with an interception, with the offense unable to capitalize on the sack. But the defensive play showed Scourton's progress as a pass-rusher in this league and his impact on this defense.

It was the product of how Scourton had been playing his guy all game, setting himself up to get into the backfield on time.

"If you go watch the tape, I mean, we were winning. Shough was just doing a good job getting around the pocket and getting the ball out quickly," explained Scourton of what led to the play. "I mean, it was, it's just me setting the guy up all game and winning those rushes, finally getting home."

It was also the product of continued growth this season, as the second-rounder took on a starting role after Patrick Jones II was lost to a season-ending injury, and Scourton was asked to fill the role.

"He's taking great strides, week in and week out, he gets better and he's into it," coach Dave Canales complimented his rookie after the game. "He's working hard. He's improving. He's taking to the coaching and applying it to the game. So I'm really proud of him for that."

Added Wharton, "I think Nic, he's a hell of a player. Every week, he gets better and better, and I think he's hard on himself, but he's taking the coaching. So, anytime you put that together with a guy who loves the game, you're going to get a great player."

Scourton finished Sunday's game with four tackles, including one for loss, two quarterback hurries, and the 1.0 sack. He now has 3.0 sacks on the season.

"He's playing with confidence and ownership of his job, and he's doing it at a high level for sure," said linebacker Christian Rozeboom of Scourton. "So, I'm glad that he's had the confidence, but just when a few plays are going your way, he's not doing anything more than his job.

"I think that's kind of our mantra on this defense, you know, do your job and he's doing a great, great job at what he needs to do and the results are coming to him."

In the end, though, there's only one result Scourton cared about, and it's the one he will be thinking about this week as the Panthers prepare for the back-half of their two-straight division games.

"It meant a lot, but I mean, we didn't win the game," said Scourton. "So who cares about a sack?"