PHILADELPHIA — Rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews caught seven passes for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns, and the Philadelphia defense dominated the Carolina offense as the Eagles cruised to a 45-21 victory over the Panthers on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

That made a winner of quarterback Mark Sanchez, who made his first start since Week 15 of the 2012 season when he played for the New York Jets. He completed 20 of 37 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 102.5.

Sanchez took over for Nick Foles, who is out for six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone.

The Philadelphia defense sacked Panthers quarterback Cam Newton nine times and forced five turnovers, including an interception by cornerback Bradley Fletcher that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown with 2:13 left in the second quarter. That gave the Eagles a 31-7 lead at halftime and the Panthers never challenged in the second half.

Newton finished the game 25-of-40 passing for 306 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 71.5. And the Eagles held the Panthers to 67 yards on the ground.

The victory keeps the Eagles (7-2) a half-game ahead of the Dallas Cowboys (7-3) in NFC East and sets up a possible showdown for first place on Thanksgiving Day. The Panthers (3-6-1) could have moved ahead of first-place New Orleans (4-5) by percentage points in NFC South with a victory.

Turnovers helped the Eagles take a 31-7 halftime lead, and then they put the game away early in the third quarter after Newton was sacked for the sixth time and fumbled the ball away for the Panthers’ fifth turnover. That set up the Eagles’ fifth touchdown, on a 1-yard run by running back LeSean McCoy that pushed the score to 38-7.

Matthews’ second touchdown, on an 18-yard pass from Sanchez, made it 45-7 early in the fourth quarter before the Panthers scored a couple late and meaningless touchdowns to make the score closer than the game really was.

Two Panthers mistakes gave the Eagles 10 early points and they used that as a springboard for their most productive half of the season.

On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Eagles linebacker Casey Matthews — replacing injured DeMeco Ryans — stripped the ball from Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams and the Eagles recovered on the Panthers’ 22, which led to a 39-yard field goal by rookie Cody Parkey.

Then, on the Panthers’ next offensive play, cornerback Cary Williams intercepted a Newton pass on the Carolina 43, which led to running back Darren Sproles’ 8-yard touchdown sprint that made it 10-0 with 11:25 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers scored on their next possession, mostly because of one play — Newton connected with tight end Greg Olsen on a 48-yard bomb that put the ball on the Eagles’ 16. Four plays later, running back Jonathan Stewart crashed over from the 1 to make it 10-7 with 6:00 left in the first quarter.

However, the Eagles got those seven points back on another touchdown by Sproles, and this one had an exclamation point after it. He returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead with 3:29 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles added another touchdown on Sanchez’ 13-yard pass to Jordan Matthews that made it 24-7 with 11:33 left in the second quarter.

And then they drove a stake through the Panthers’ hearts when Fletcher intercepted Newton and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown, and the Eagles walked off the field at halftime leading 31-7.

NOTES: Matt Tobin started at right guard for the Eagles in place of Todd Herremans, who is out for the season with a biceps injury. Because of injuries and suspensions to other players, the Eagles have now sent out six different o-line alignments in the starting lineup and only one player, LT Jason Peters, has played in every game. … The Panthers’ Andrew Norwell, who started at left guard the last two games, replaced Trai Turner (ankle) at right guard and Amini Silatolu was back at left guard after missing the last three games with a calf injury. … Eagles S Earl Wolff, who started last week, was inactive on Monday night. His spot was taken by S Chris Prosinski, a special teams ace who just signed last week. … The Panthers have a record of 7-5 on Monday Night Football. The Eagles have a MNF record of 31-25, including a 30-27 victory over Indianapolis this season in Week 2.