NEW ORLEANS — What a difference a healthy Ricky makes. In his fourth consecutive 100-yard game of the year, Ricky Williams scored two touchdowns to help the Saints to a 24-6 win Sunday over the Carolina Panthers.

Williams had 213 total yards, including 144 on the ground in 38 attempts.

&uot;It felt great,&uot; Williams said of his fourth-straight 100-yard game — an accomplishment no other Saints running back has ever achieved and a mark the second-year back fell well short of in his injury-plagued rookie year. &uot;I was hurt. You just can’t compare the two seasons.&uot;

The Saints were aided Sunday by the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense, which went a long a way toward gaining some respect to go along with the ranking by holding Carolina to just 10 yards rushing and 141 yards of total offense.

&uot;We have the best front seven in the league, and the guys in our secondary have been around,&uot; cornerback Fred Weary said.

&uot;When you combine those groups you get a championship-caliber defense.&uot;

The Saints defense kept Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein from getting comfortable in the pocket, amassing eight sacks in the game to bring the season sack total to 27.

&uot;We smelled blood,&uot; said defensive tackle La’Roi Glover, who led the Saints with three sacks. &uot;We knew we had them. We just had to get back there.&uot;

New Orleans especially depended on its defense in the first half after several missed scoring opportunities. The first came after Carolina veteran return man Michael Bates fumbled the opening kick-off and gave the Saints the ball on the 21-yard-line.

On the second play of the drive, Panthers defensive end Jay Williams sacked quarterback Jeff Blake and caused a fumble — the first of three Blake fumbles in the game.

On the next New Orleans drive, the Saints made it to the Carolina 2-yard-line on a 34-yard halfback pass from Williams to wide out Keith Poole. On first-and-goal, however, Blake fumbled the snap and Carolina again recovered.

The Saints’ next possession ended when a 51-yard Doug Brien field goal attempt was blocked.

&uot;We still made a lot of mistakes, but we deserved to win,&uot; Saints coach Jim Haslett said. &uot;We’re doing a lot of good things.&uot;

Good things seemed to happen whenever Williams touched the ball. The Saints’ first touchdown came early in the second quarter on a 2-yards Williams dive. Seven plays of the nine-play drive were Williams runs. &uot;Ricky played great,&uot; Haslett said. &uot;He ran hard and held on to the football.&uot;

The Panthers kicked two field goals in the second quarter and Brien added a 29-yard chip shot to make the halftime score 10-6.

The score remained that way until 7:25 was left in the game, at which point the Saints special teams — the albatross around the neck of the team for most of the season — set up a New Orleans score.

On fourth-and-1 from their own 35, the Saints lined up for a punt, but instead direct snapped the ball to Fred McAfee. McAfee took the ball around the right end for 40 yards before being dragged down.

Williams would eventually score his second touchdown on a 1-yard run.

&uot;We were waiting for them to only put seven men on the line to run that play,&uot; Haslett said of the fake punt. &uot;That time they only had six. I had called the play before, but there were always eight guys on the line.&uot;

The Saints added an insurance score late in the game with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Blake to wide receiver Joe Horn, whose 37 receptions this year are a personal best.