LOS ANGELES -- Cam Newton wasn't concerned about the Carolina Panthers' win over the Los Angeles Rams being ugly.

"I've never heard of a pretty loss," Newton said.

Newton and two Graham Gano field goals boosted the Panthers to a 13-10 victory over the Rams on Sunday at the Memorial Coliseum.

Newton connected with tight end Greg Olsen on a 9-yard scoring pass late in the first to give Carolina a lead it would never surrender. Newton completed 20 of 32 passes for 225 yards.

"For us, the most important thing is just finding ways to win the football game. That's what we did," Newton said. "We're not going talk logistics of stats or statistics, we just have to find ways. It's not (always) going to be pretty."

Rams quarterback Case Keenum was 27 of 46 for 296 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Keenum was frequently booed throughout the game by the hometown fans, who were apparently craving the pro debut of rookie quarterback and top draft pick Jared Goff.

Keenum heard it all.

"It's frustrating; I'm frustrated," Keenum said of the fans' reaction. "I'm glad they care. I do, I'm really glad the fans care. I care, too. I put a lot in this. I put a lot of hours, a lot of work into it. Something I've work for my whole life. I'm glad they care because I care as well."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher defended Keenum.

"I would submit that Case wasn't the reason we lost this game today. We just didn't make plays," Fisher said.

However, Fisher acknowledged that Keenum and the offense has to be more productive.

"Painting a realistic picture, the last two (games) the defense has given up a touchdown to Eli Manning and Cam Newton, and that's it," Fisher said, referring to 17-10 setback to the New York Giants two weeks ago in London. "And that's a winning effort. The problem is we've only scored two touchdowns the last two weeks. Therein lies are problem. We've got to find a way to get some turnovers on defense and find a way to score some points."

Keenum gave the Rams a chance, however, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt with 34 seconds left in the contest and cutting the Panthers' margin to three points. But Los Angeles failed to recover a squib kick with 31 seconds remaining, allowing the Panthers (3-5) to prevail.

"It wasn't good enough," Keenum said of his performance. "Again, a turnover cost us. Then, we were not good enough on third down. I think we had a couple of plays there I want back. But again, it wasn't good enough."

Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis's interception of Keenum at the Panthers' 45-yard line with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter led to one of Gano's two boots.

Newton guided the Panthers to the Rams' 11 before being sacked by defensive tackle Aaron Donald for a nine-yard loss on third down. However, Gano converted a 38-yard field goal 11:17 left for a 10-0 Panthers' advantage.

Los Angeles (3-5) had a chance to cut the margin with a touchdown but tight end Lance Kendricks dropped Keenum's pass at the goal line, forcing kicker Greg Zuerlein to convert a 25-yard field goal with 8:06 remaining. That pulled the Rams within 10-3.

But the Panthers added a 37-yard field goal by by Gano with 3:18 left to clinch their second straight win.

The Los Angeles defense sacked Newton five times, two of those by Donald. Carolina sacked Keenum four times. Defensive end Mario Addison earned two sacks.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera also was pleased with the back end of its defense.

"I think the secondary is better because I think they're maturing as a group, Rivera said.

Both teams missed on field goal attempts in the first half. Zuerlein misfired on a pair of 55-yarders after the Rams' opening drive and the final one of the first half. Gano failed to convert from 49 yards late in the second quarter.

An announced crowd of 86,109 attended.

NOTES: Panthers S Colin Jones suffered a concussion in the third quarter and did not return. ... C Ryan Kalil (shoulder) missed the game. Gino Gradkowski replaced Kalil. Carolina also was without T Michael Oher, DT Vernon Butler, CB Zack Sanchez, RB Cameron Artis-Payne, TE Chris Manhertz and LB Shaq Thompson. ... WR Nelson Spruce, DE Matt Longacre, QB Sean Mannion, DB Dwayne Gratz, G Jamon Brown, T Pace Murphy and TE Temarrick Hemingway were inactive for Los Angeles. ... The Panthers lead the all-time series 13-8 and have won six of the last seven meetings. ... Both clubs resume play next Sunday. Carolina hosts the Kansas City Chiefs, while Los Angeles visits the New York Jets.