In a mostly cagey and uneventful Saturday evening kick-off, Joe Willock's accurate strike was a rare moment of attacking quality.
Both Newcastle and Chelsea struggled to muster up any positive attacking play in the first half - a combined single, tame attempt on target was all that the two teams managed to create.
Following the break, it was the hosts who looked to increase the pace of the match. A fast start created a few half-opportunities, while Chelsea continued to struggle.
Eventually, Willock managed to break the deadlock, with a precise, first-time strike into the corner of Chelsea's goal. The opener, scored after 67 minutes, looked fairly likely to end up as the deciding moment of the game, given the hosts' effective defensive play, throughout the game.
The win takes Newcastle onto the 30-point mark - just the third team in this season's Premier League to cross that landmark. They head into the 2022 FIFA World Cup break above some of the league's elite, only behind Arsenal and Manchester City.
For Chelsea, a very concerning ending to their autumn spell. Following Graham Potter's impressive start, it is now three consecutive league defeats for his team. Chelsea sit in eighth place and eight points behind the UEFA Champions League places.
Story of the match
Understandably, there were limited changes from Eddie Howe towards his 11. From the 4-1 win at Southampton, Callum Wilson was only fit enough to be amongst the hosts' substitutes and Jacob Murphy was the other omission from the starting lineup. Their places were taken by Chris Wood and Joelinton.
From the disappointing home loss against Arsenal, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Lewis Hall - making his Premier League debut, came into the Chelsea team.
A few injury interruptions in the early stages of the contest meant that it was quite a stop-start first ten minutes of the game.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the most unfortunate - he was forced off and had to be replaced by Thiago Silva, with Cesar Azpilicueta moving to the wing-back role.
A neat bit of footwork on Azpilicueta's wing helped Willock beat the Spaniard and float a cross into the Chelsea box. However, any real panic was avoided, after Miguel Almiron's effort ended up well off target.
Throughout the first half, Newcastle were the slightly more threatening side. Albeit, the only attempt on target of the half came from the visitors; Broja's tame effort, at around the half hour mark, was the only time either keeper was tested.
A late penalty shout from the hosts was the only subsequent notable event of the half. A low cross from the left side was deflected for a corner off of Trevor Chalobah's arm; since the defender had to plant his arm down, in order to allow him to put in a sliding block, the appeal was rightfully denied.
The two teams headed into the break, with Newcastle having had the slightly better of the contest. However, there was very little for the home crowd to shout about - a hugely underwhelming first 45 minutes for the neutral observers.
Potter's half-time introduction of Christian Pulisic, in place of Azpilicueta, aimed to improve their fairly timid performance.
Within the first few minutes of the restart, Newcastle looked the more likely team to liven up the dull contest. A good bit of play down the right side led to Kieran Trippier crossing the ball towards the back post and an eventual blocked attempt on goal from Joelinton.
After the ball was cleared, the hosts worked their way straight back into the Chelsea box. A neat touch from Almiron led to Sean Longstaff having a first-time effort at goal from close range, which was well smothered by Edouard Mendy.
Further problems were caused by Willock's low ball across the Chelsea box, which had to be redirected for a corner by Hall. Approaching the hour mark of the evening kick-off, Chelsea were really struggling to play a positive part in the contest.
The visitors managed to finally burst into life, as a powerful run from Pulisic had to be stopped by a last-ditch challenge from Trippier. Following that, a whipped effort from Gallagher, just outside of the box, forced Nick Pope into making a terrific, diving stop, to keep the ball out of the far corner.
Just as it seemed that Chelsea might have finally awoken, a brilliant strike from Willock broke the deadlock.
The October Premier League player of the month, Almiron, showed a good bit of dribbling to maintain possession and avoid a challenge from Koulibaly. As it seemed that he would look to continue his run, his solo run was interrupted by the eventual goalscorer. Willock's first-time strike, from the edge of the box, nestled into the far corner and past the dive of the helpless Mendy.
There was very little in terms of a Chelsea response to the opener. The introductions of Hakim Ziyech, Marc Cucurella and Kai Havertz brought little immediate reward for the visitors.
Even with around half of the second period remaining, after Willock's goal, Chelsea were struggling to cause any real issues for the hosts. As the clock ticked towards the 90 minute mark, Newcastle looked set for another huge result.
As the last of the seven added minutes approached, a fantastic sliding tackle from Dan Burn sent the home crowd into ruptures and was the instigator of a passionate ending to the match.
Both sets of players clashed, following the final whistle - Burn and Havertz seemed particularly displeased with each other.
Player of the match - Kieran Trippier
The full-back has enjoyed an outstanding first half of 2022/23 and will hope to carry his impressive form into Qatar.
Tonight, as he usually is, Trippier was a hugely vital part of a very reliable Newcastle defensive unit. What makes him stand out from the rest of the back four, is his impressive attacking output.
Trippier often took up advanced positions down the right side, providing a great source of support for the in-form Almiron.
Howe's system utilises Trippier's strengths brilliantly and implements the correct balance between finding the right-back in advanced attacking positions and maintaining the solidity of their defence.