The Carolina Panthers staved off disaster by hanging onto a big lead against the New Orleans Saints and winning, 23-20, Thursday night. But the bigger news might have been the injury to star linebacker Luke Kuechly.

Kuechly went down with about five minutes left in the game attempting to tackle Saints running back Tim Hightower. His facemask collided with Hightower on the tackle and he came down awkwardly. Kuechly was seen openly sobbing on the field and gasping for breath as trainers attended to him. He was carted off and was evaluated for a concussion. Kuechly missed three games last season with a concussion, and the sight of him hyperventilating and fighting off tears was unnerving.

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Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had no details on Kuechly’s condition after the game, saying he wanted to talk to the doctors before updating the media.

The Panthers were decent defensively early, forcing a Drew Brees fumble and picking him off once on a terrible pass, but the offense put them in a precarious position. Cam Newton had a marginal game, the run game was stopped cold for the most part and they couldn’t take advantage of several Saints special-teams mistakes. The play of the game was Panthers rookie Vernon Butler blocking a Saints 38-yard field-goal try, and Kuechly running it back 88 yards for an apparent touchdown. Even with a block in the back nullifying Kuechly’s return, Cam Newton hit Ted Ginn with a gorgeous strike from 40 yards out for a touchdown and a 10-point swing in seven seconds.

But a 23-3 Panthers lead going into the fourth quarter turned into a game they had to sweat out. It’s been that kind of season. The Panthers and Saints, who split their two games this season, are both 4-6, well behind the first-place Atlanta Falcons. The Saints were on the verge of being 5-4 just five days ago but blew a chance to take the lead against the Denver Broncos on an improbable blocked extra-point return in the final minute for the crushing loss. The blocked kick on Thursday was a painful reminder of how the Saints have let things slip away so quickly.

The Panthers know all about blowing big chances. On the heels of blowing a 17-0 lead against the Kansas City Chiefs at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers needed this one. The home-field advantage that made them so dangerous in going 10-0 last season, including playoffs, has been minimized. They’re 3-3 at home, with two wins coming against last-place teams.

Somehow, the Panthers iced this game despite gaining only one first down in the fourth quarter on Thursday. The Panthers have had major trouble in fourth quarters this season, where they’ve been outscored 117-68, and they now face a schedule that features road games in three of the next four contests before the rematch with the Falcons.

But will Kuechly be out there? His status is unknown, but it’s concerning when the Panthers’ best player — yes, he’s been more consistent than Newton in 2016 — suffers another concussion a year after he missed a major chunk with one. The team also lost Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil to injury in this game.

The Panthers remain in postseason contently, but barely. They need to finish games better — and they need to hear good news for their All Pro linebacker.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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