After a wayward performance that left him replaced as NSW's goal-kicker in Origin I, Nathan Cleary nailed the sideline conversion that put the Panthers up by two points with 20 minutes to play on Sunday.
Cleary managed the second half to perfection, before NSW teammate Dylan Edwards sent a looping pass to another Blue in Brian To'o, who crossed for the match-sealing try.
The Panthers have jumped into 14th place on the ladder and are now only three competition points out of the top eight at the halfway point of the campaign
They will need to win eight of their remaining 12 regular-season games to finish with a 50 per cent winning record.
But coach Ivan Cleary was encouraged by Sunday's win, with aspects of Penrith's four-time premiership-winning best showing themselves for the first time in a disappointing year.
"That was a pretty tough win," Cleary said.
"The scramble defence in the first half is what set the game up for us. We haven't really had that this year. I think it's been a hallmark of what we've done in past years.
"That can honestly be the difference between a win and a loss, so hopefully that's a sign of things to come."
The Eels had the better of long stretches of the game, but their only two tries came down the left side early in each half, with Dylan Brown important in the lead-up of both.
Cleary had his fingerprints on the Panthers' first two tries, rival captain Mitch Moses conceding the Eels could not keep up with his NSW teammate.
"He was on fire, wasn't he? That's why he's the best half in our game. He just killed us," Moses said.
Cleary swung left to help put Casey McLean over and did so again ahead of the Panthers' second try, which Thomas Jenkins scored from a McLean kick.
A Cleary 40/20 kick helped the Panthers on to the front foot in the final 10 minutes, before Edwards and To'o combined to seal the Panthers' first win at CommBank Stadium since adopting it as their home ground this year.
"All the Origin boys I thought were amazing. It's such a huge effort to back up after Origin," coach Cleary said.
"We've seen a bit across the league, it's something that I don't know if it's the greatest thing for these guys to do. They'll all do it and it was crucial that they did it today."
The Eels were denied a third consecutive win, but coach Jason Ryles was confident his improving side was still on the right track.
"We didn't play just any ordinary team, we had the fully loaded, four-time premiers today and they're desperate," the first-year coach said.
"They had to complete at 90 (per cent) and they had to play well, one to stay with us, and two to beat us in the end."
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