CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An investigation by the NFL into allegations that owner Jerry Richardson settled with at least four former employees for workplace misconduct. The return of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers from collarbone surgery.

The Carolina Panthers had a lot of off-field distractions hanging over them heading into Sunday's game.

But on the field, the story was quarterback Cam Newton and an opportunistic defense that had three interceptions and a crucial fumble recovery with the Packers driving for the potential tying touchdown with 1:50 remaining.

"That was pretty much our chip, being that information did get pointed out to us," said Newton, referring to the team getting briefed on the allegations Saturday night so they would be prepared when the story detailing them came out Sunday. "We're kind of been used to it. We've been weathering the storm, not letting the minutia of the media kind of affect and alter our focus.

"We control the narrative, as Coach always says, if we go out and do our job. Be professionals about it. Understand what your No. 1 priority is and everything else falls second, third and fourth. We still want to keep that professional approach to it but keep moving forward."

Needing a victory to keep pace with the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South and to stay ahead of the pack in the wild-card race, Newton moved forward with arguably his best performance of the season in a 31-24 victory.

He threw four touchdown passes with no interceptions and kept the Packers off balance with 14 rushes for 58 yards. He outplayed Rodgers, who was picked off three times and sacked three times in his first game back from injury.

It may have been Newton's best performance of the season, particularly with the outside noise and what was at stake in terms of the playoffs.

The Panthers are 10-4, tied with New Orleans with two games remaining. They are all but a lock for the playoffs, although the division title is their first priority.

They would need to win out against Tampa Bay and Atlanta, then hope the Saints lose one of their final two games against the same teams.

Winning out seems realistic with the way the offense came to life with the reemergence of tight end Greg Olsen as a weapon and possibly the coming-out party of rookie running back Christian McCaffrey.

Olsen, who spent eight games on injured reserve with a fractured foot and missed the next game and a half with soreness in the foot, looked a shell of himself in last week's win against Minnesota with no catches on one target.

But he looked like the first tight end in NFL history to have three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons Sunday against Green Bay, catching nine passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

McCaffrey hasn't consistently hasn't had the impressive statistics many expected when the Panthers selected him with the eighth pick of the draft. But he started over Jonathan Stewart a week after the veteran had 103 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and proved worthy of that from the outset.

He had nine touches for 60 yards on Carolina's opening 15-play, 75-yard drive, including a 7-yard touchdown catch over the middle for an early 7-0 lead.

McCaffrey finished with 12 carries for 63 yards and six catches for 73 yards.

His biggest mistake was muffing an onsides kick that gave Rodgers one last chance to tie in the final minutes.

Beyond that, an offense that has at times looked stagnant was as explosive as coach Ron Rivera predicted it would be during the preseason. And it all started with Newton.

"Cam was solid," Rivera said. "He has been on point, he has done the things we asked and he has been solid. We have been very pleased with those things, and again, I think that as we continue to go forward this is the type of energy we need from our quarterback and from our key players."

Pair that with a defense ranked fifth in the league, one that finally is getting interceptions that it couldn't buy through the first 12 games, and the Panthers could be a serious threat in the NFC.

How they handle the attention over allegations of Richardson over the next few weeks will be interesting. But they proved on this Sunday that when it's time to take the field they can put those issues aside and play at a high level.

They believe they can continue that moving forward.

"We have a lot of very high-character guys in this locker room," Olsen said. "We have a lot of guys that understand what our role is here and where we fit in this organization and what we're here to do. And that's play football and represent this team as well as we can, on and off the field, and give our fans something to be proud of.

"As far as everything else that goes on, that kind of falls outside the scope of being a player."