LOS ANGELES -- Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton didn’t draw a roughing the passer penalty a week after complaining he wasn’t getting treated fairly in the pocket, but he got roughed up.

A lot.

They were legal hits, mind you, so Newton won’t be asking to speak with commissioner Roger Goodell to complain.

If the NFL MVP had anything to complain about in Sunday's 13-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, it was the lack of protection from his offensive line that had given up only four sacks over his past three starts.

With Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil out with a shoulder injury, Newton was sacked five times and pressured countless others. Much of the pressure came up the middle, where Gino Gradkowski started for Kalil.

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That kept this one closer than it should have been.

Even when Newton had solid protection, he wasn’t particularly sharp, perhaps more concerned about whether the protection would hold up. He finished 20-for-32 for 225 yards and one touchdown.

The lack of a running game for over three quarters didn’t help, either.

The Panthers rely on balance to keep the pressure off Newton. That only happened on a couple of drives, as the rushing attack that averages 123 yards a game accounted for only nine yards through three quarters on Sunday and 60 for the game.

But Carolina (3-5) survived on a sun-splashed afternoon at Memorial Coliseum, and that was a positive for a team desperate for wins, no matter how they come.

Remember, they lost three games by a field goal or less during a 1-5 start.

“It’s turning right before our eyes,’’ Newton said of Carolina's season.

That the Rams (3-5) were as anemic offensively as Carolina helped the Panthers' cause. The Rams missed a field goal and had a would-be touchdown pass dropped, just to name a few of their blunders.

Carolina kicker Graham Gano also missed a field goal, which might have cost him his job the way this season has gone -- had he not connected on two more field goals or had the Panthers lost another close one.

But nobody in a Carolina uniform was complaining about that or anything else. They are happy to be returning to North Carolina with a two-game winning streak and consecutive home games against Kansas City and New Orleans coming up.

Win those, get to 5-5 and the Panthers maybe can begin thinking about getting in the playoff race.

The Panthers also are happy to finally be finding their identity, and it starts with a defense that played physical and tough for the second straight week.

"It's good for your team,'' middle linebacker Luke Kuechly said of getting tough wins. "Not every game is going to be a blowout, and it feels good for us to go out there and get a win like that.''

Even if it was ugly.

“I’ve never heard of a pretty loss,’’ said Newton. “For us, the most important thing is to find ways to win the football game. That’s what we did. We’re not going to talk statistics. We just have to find ways.''

But the Panthers will have to play better than they did on this day. They’ll need to get Kalil healthy, although to be fair, they won’t face many defensive fronts better than the Rams'. They definitely won’t face a better tackle than Gradkowski did in Pro Bowler Aaron Donald.

Yes, there’s a lot to complain about after this game -- but not the kind of complaints Newton made a week ago.

“I’m not worried about that,’’ Newton said when asked if the officiating was better when he was in the pocket. “I’m just trying to find ways to win football games.’’