Only a late winner for Tottenham Hotspur away to Bournemouth stopped the Magpies from going third in the table thanks to a magnificent win and some great goals, including a penalty and a header from Callum Wilson and a superb strike by Miguel Almiron.
"The lads really competed well. It was a bitty first half, very stop-start, thankfully in the second half we were outstanding. That is up there with one of the best performances of the season," Howe told Sky Sports.
"I'm really pleased for Callum, penalties are never easy but he put it away well. He was at the heart of a lot of our good football... it was an outstanding finish by Miguel," he added.
Newcastle are fourth in the table on 24 points, but Villa slipped back to 15th on 12 points after a disappointing display.
Villa interim boss Aaron Danks, who saw his side win 4-0 against Brentford last week only to lose by the same score here, was sanguine at the final whistle.
"The league is ruthless and can punish you when you are not having good moments. The penalty was the right decision. We knew they would have a spell of momentum and they were ruthless. The scoreline looks big and it hurts, but that is what the league can do," he told the BBC.
"Newcastle were intelligent in the way they positioned their players. There were little tactical moments that hurt us. You have to find ways of staying in games in those moments. Unfortunately the game went away from us," he added.
Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery will take the reins at Villa from Tuesday.
