The Carolina Panthers will play the New Orleans Saints in a very important game for both teams with playoff hopes. The game will be live streamed from New Orleans at 8:30 PM ET tonight.
The Panthers can become the second team in the NFL to win nine straight games this season. Doing so will require them to hand the Saints their first home loss of 2013 on Sunday night, with the winner taking control of the NFC South.
This matchup of the two 9-3 teams in the South is the first of two in a three-week span.
After Sunday's 27-6 win over Tampa Bay, which had won three straight, the Panthers will match their stingy defense against Drew Brees and New Orleans' high-powered attack. Carolina is allowing a league-low 13.1 points per game and 289.8 yards, second best in the NFL.
The Saints haven't lost consecutive games in a single regular season under coach Sean Payton since 2009, but they're looking vulnerable after a 34-7 rout at Seattle on Monday.
"It's a setback and now you're on a short week, but we have to make the corrections," Payton said. "We can't just say it didn't happen. But that being said, we have to quickly get focused on Carolina. They're playing as good football as anybody in the league right now."
The Panthers have won four straight on the road and were the last team to beat New Orleans at the Superdome, 44-38 on Dec. 20. The Saints have outscored opponents 199-95 during their six home victories this year.
Carolina beat the Saints twice last year after losing the previous four matchups.
As good as Carolina has been defensively, coach Ron Rivera knows his team is in for a challenge in holding down New Orleans at home.
"There are a lot of things they're doing offensively that make you say, 'Wow,'" Rivera told the team's official website. "A lot of people thought last year that Jimmy Graham had an off-year, but now watching him he looks like he's in the form he was two years ago."
The Seahawks, however, showed it's possible to shut the Saints down. Their seven points matched the fewest they've scored since Payton took over in 2006, while their 188 total yards are the fewest in that time.
Brees' 147 passing yards was his lowest total in a complete game since throwing for 132 on Dec. 24, 2006 against the Giants.
Both of those games were on the road, though Brees said Monday's embarrassment had very little to do with location.
"The weather did not play a factor. The noise? It's loud, yes, it's tough to communicate ... but I felt like we did a good job communicating," Brees said. "We were prepared for that. We just got outplayed."
New Orleans is averaging 33.2 points at home, trailing only Denver and Dallas.
Carolina's Cam Newton went 18 of 29 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Bucs. He ran for another, but was displeased with the picks after throwing four in his previous seven games.
The game will be live streamed on across the nation on the National Broadcasting Company television network.
