CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Maybe all the Carolina Panthers needed was to play someone other than the Denver Broncos.The leagues top-scoring offense from a year ago returned to form Sunday. Cam Newton threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, and the Panthers overcame four turnovers to beat the San Francisco 49ers 46-27 in their home opener. The Panthers racked up 529 yards on offense.Carolina lost to Denver in the Super Bowl and again in a rematch in Week 1, combining to score 30 points in those games. The Panthers averaged 31.3 points per game last season.Newton threw two TD passes to Kelvin Benjamin and one each to Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess to pass Jake Delhomme for most TD passes in franchise history with 122.Newton showed no ill effects from the four helmet-to-helmet hits he took in Carolinas season-opening loss to Denver. He took one shot to the head from linebacker Eli Harold late in the game after a pitchout on an option play, but quickly got to his feet.Its one of things those things where the momentum sways the play calling, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. This game we were able to run the ball and it opened some things up. Last week (against Denver) we needed Cam to open some things up. Cam will play his role for us. This was an example of being able to keep him out of the running game for the most part.Newtons first pass was tipped and intercepted by Antoine Bethea, leading to a 49ers field goal. But the 2015 league MVP locked in after that, completing 24 of 40 passes while running for 37 yards on six carries.Olsen gave the Panthers (1-1) the lead for good in the second quarter when he hauled in a career-long 78-yard touchdown pass from Newton after the 49ers bit hard on play-action. That left the Pro Bowl tight end wide open on a seam route. Olsen finished with five catches for 122 yards.Benjamin, who missed last season with a torn ACL, finished with seven catches for 108 yards and has three TD catches on the season.Most of the DBs that were on me were small and I was able to jump and get the ball, Benjamin said.Bethea said the 49ers (1-1) didnt play up to par after their 28-0 performance against the Rams last week.We didnt do a great job of getting off the field on third down, Bethea said. And were going up against a very good offense. We can tackle better, too, but everything is correctable.WHAT WAS THAT?: The Panthers won despite the four turnovers, including one colossal mistake by returner Ted Ginn Jr., who failed to pick up the ball on a kickoff return. After Ginn bobbled the ball twice, the 49ers recovered at the 1-yard line and scored on the next play.FOZZY BEAR ON THE RUN: Despite losing running back Jonathan Stewart (hamstring) in the first quarter, the Panthers had no problems moving the ball against a defense that was riding high following a 28-0 win over the Rams in the season opener.Fozzy Whittaker ran for 100 yards on 16 carries and had three catches for 31 yards.Rivera said he has concerns about Stewart moving forward, but that second-year back Cameron Artis-Payne is ready for action. Artis-Payne has been inactive the last two games.GABBERTS DAY: Blaine Gabbert threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in the loss. Gabbert pulled the 49ers within 34-27 late with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald, but threw two interceptions in the games final five minutes.FIRST TOUCHDOWN: Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson scored his first career touchdown when he scooped up Carlos Hydes fumble and returned it 9 yards to give Carolina a 7-3 lead.INJURY UPDATE49ers: Linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong left in the second half with a shoulder injury.Panthers: Stewart was limited to 9 yards rushing on five carries when he went down in the first quarter.BY THE NUMBERSNewton reached 121 career TD passes in 2,480 attempts, while Delhomme had 120 in 2,669 attempts.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLJohn Matuszak Raiders Jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Maxx Crosby Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-John-Matuszak-Elite-Jersey/ . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Jim Otto Jersey . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Jim Plunkett Raiders Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzkis new contract will give the Dallas forward a chance spend 20 seasons with the only franchise he has ever played for.The Mavericks and Nowitzki have reached agreement on a two-year, $40 million contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because contracts cant be signed until late Wednesday night Central time. Nowitzki will have a player option in the second year.The person also said the Mavericks have agreed to a two-year, $6 million contract with free agent guard Seth Curry, the younger brother of two-time MVP Stephen Curry.At $20 million per season, Nowitzkis deal is a significant raise for the 38-year-old, who opted out of the final year of a three-year, $25 million deal that was a huge discount for the Mavericks. It helped them get Chandler Parsons in free agency two years ago, although he is leaving for a max deal in Memphis.L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant was just the fifth player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons and he retired in April as the only one so far to do it all with one team. Tim Duncan of the Spurs is considering whether to return for a 20th season in San Antonio.Last spring, Nowitzki said after another first-round playoff exit that he felt as if he had at least two more good seasons in him after leading the Mavericks in scoring for the 15th time in 16 seasons. The 2007 NBA MVP essentially told a media outlet in his native Germany on Tuesday that he would retire with the Mavericks.Ive always said that Ill end my career in Dallas, Nowitzki told the German news agency DPA in comments translated by the AP. Ive been here 18 seasons. It would be great if I can make it 20.Nowitzkis future with the Mavericks was actually a legitimate question Friday, the opening day of free agency when Dallas struck out on its top targets for the fifth straight year. Nowitzki had said the only way he woouldnt return is if the Mavericks tried to surround him with unproven players.ddddddddddddBut the Mavericks added three veteran starters in two days, including two-fifths of the lineup for the 73-win Golden State Warriors, who blew a 3-1 lead and lost the NBA Finals to Cleveland. Dallas is set to add small forward Harrison Barnes on a max deal at four years and $94 million. Barnes was a restricted free agent, but the Warriors will renounce the rights to him to make room under the salary cap for Kevin Durant.Golden State also had to find a new home for Andrew Bogut after securing a commitment from Durant, and agreed to trade the 31-year-old center to the Mavericks.The Mavericks will have three returning starters in Nowitzki, shooting guard Wesley Matthews and point guard Deron Williams, who has agreed to a second season with his hometown team on a one-year, $10 million contract.Williams started Dallas run of failures in free agency in 2012 when he decided to make the move with the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn. But he quickly joined the Mavericks on a $5 million deal when the Nets bought him out last summer.Nowitzki, the NBA Finals MVP when the Mavericks won the franchises only championship in 2011, figures to become the sixth player in NBA history and seventh player overall to reach 30,000 career points next season. The 7-footer with the smooth jumper has 29,491 in 18 seasons, sixth on the NBA list and eighth with ABA players included.The 25-year-old Curry will be on his fifth team in four seasons. After playing sparingly for Memphis, Cleveland and Phoenix his first three years, Curry averaged 6.8 points and 1.5 assists in 44 games for Sacramento last season.---Associated Press Writer Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report. ' ' '