PHILADELPHIA — Carolina’s Cam Newton is one of the best running quarterbacks to ever play the game, but as he discovered Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field, even though he can run, he can’t always hide.

Newton was sacked nine times by the Philadelphia defense and that relentless pressure was a big reason the Eagles rolled to a 45-21 victory over the Panthers that kept them a half-game ahead of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East.

The Eagles’ offense did its share, too, including quarterback Mark Sanchez and rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews, who teamed for two touchdown passes.

And the special teams also contributed, highlighted by Darren Sproles’ 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“This was a team win in the truest sense of the word,” said Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin, who had 3 1/2 of the Eagles’ nine sacks. “This is what you strive for every week, this is what you work for in every practice, to have a complete game like this where every phase contributes.

“And that’s why this game was so much fun, because everybody in this locker room had a piece of it. This is what team football is all about.”

Needless to say, the team in the other locker room had a different perspective.

“We had a great week of practice, we had a great game plan, we were excited about playing in prime time, and then we go out and play like that,” Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said. “Obviously, that’s very disappointing. We made some mistakes early and we never really got on track until it was too late. We knew this was a good team we were playing, but we never expected this.”

Those early mistakes — a fumble and an interception — helped the Eagles take a 10-0 lead, and after Carolina (3-6-1) scored to make it 10-7, Sproles ripped off his long punt return and the Eagles were in cruise control after that, taking a 31-7 lead at halftime.

“We dug that early hole for ourselves and we could never dig out,” Panthers tackle Byron Bell said. “They deserve credit for that, but we really did it to ourselves and then things just snowballed on us. We played hard and we never gave up, but we just couldn’t do the things we wanted to do and they seemed to be able to do anything they wanted to do.”

And that made a winner of Sanchez, who started for the first time since Week 15 of the 2012 season when he played for the New York Jets.

What the Panthers said:

“It does give you some hope, but we’re running out of time.” — Coach Ron Rivera, on playing in a division where the first-place team has a losing record.

What the Eagles said:

“He looked good. We’re comfortable and confident in Mark Sanchez. He’s been a starter in this league and he’s been proven. He played lights out today.” — RB LeSean McCoy, on QB Mark Sanchez’s first start with the Eagles.

What we learned about the Panthers:

1. Their offensive line is a mess. They were saddled with injuries earlier in the season, but finally got some players back this week. It didn’t matter, as the Eagles were practically pushing each other out of the way to sack QB Cam Newton.

2. They lack the explosive kind of offense that can help a team overcome early mistakes like the Panthers committed on Monday night. You can’t rally from a double-digit deficit with three yards and a cloud of dust and Carolina doesn’t have the big-play potential to score quickly and make up ground in a hurry.

–RBs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams combined for just 67 yards on 24 carries, an average of only 2.8 yards per attempt. For years, the Panthers offense revolved around a consistent running game, but that has changed. They came into the game ranked just 26th in the NFL in rushing and they didn’t do much to improve that ranking on Monday night. And that has a domino effect on the Panthers offense, since QB Cam Newton is much better when he can use play-action.

–TE Greg Olsen once again showed that he’s one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Even though the Panthers offense struggled, Olsen played well — he had a team-high six receptions for 119 yards. Olsen, an eight-year veteran, came into the game with 45 receptions for 539 yards and five TDs, and among NFL tight ends only New England’s Rob Gronkowski had more catches (49) and yards (663).

–DE Greg Hardy is missed. The Pro Bowler is on an exempt list after being convicted of domestic violence and the Carolina defense isn’t the same without him. Hardy had 15 sacks last season, third most in the NFL, and nobody has picked up the slack this season. The Panthers sacked Eagles QB Mark Sanchez just once and they don’t have anybody with more than four sacks.

What we learned about the Eagles:

1. They can win with Mark Sanchez at QB. Sanchez didn’t have a great game, but he did a good job managing the offense and making the plays he had to make — and he didn’t turn it over like QB Cam Newton did, the main reason the Eagles won easily.

2. They can rush the passer. That was a concern last season and early this season, but the Eagles have turned up the heat in recent weeks and they were in Cam Newton’s face all night, dropping him nine times, led by LB Connor Barwin and his 3 1/2 sacks.

–RB Darren Sproles was acquired from the New Orleans Saints this season for a paltry fifth-round draft pick. And all Sproles has done for the Eagles is score six touchdowns. Monday night’s game was a typical one for Sproles. He scored the Eagles’ first TD on an 8-yard run and he scored their second TD on a 65-yard punt return. That was Sproles’ second punt return for a TD this season and he’s now second on the Eagles’ career list — and he’s played a total of nine games for them.

–WR Jordan Matthews had a career game and he did it in just one possession. The rookie WR came into the game with a career-high of 59 receiving yards in Week 3 vs. Washington, and he surpassed that during an Eagles’ second-quarter scoring drive, in which he caught four passes for 73 yards, including the touchdown, on a 13-yard reception for QB Mark Sanchez. And Matthews didn’t stop there. He had five catches for 106 yards by halftime and finished with seven catches for 138 yards and two TDs.

–LB Connor Barwin surpassed his career high for sacks in a game with 3 1/2, including three just in the first half. Barwin now has 10 1/2 sacks on the season. That’s the most for an Eagles player through nine games since defensive end Hugh Douglas had 11 in 2003.