"The Panthers have won four of their past five games and are coming off a 48-16 drubbing of Tampa Bay in which they scored the second-most points in franchise history. The Panthers hung 27 points on New Orleans in a Week 5 loss in Charlotte. But the Saints are a better, faster team playing on the artificial turf in the Superdome, where they have yet to lose this season. A victory would give the Panthers a five-win improvement over 2010, matching the second-biggest turnaround in team history.

How long will the Saints play their starters?

Sean Payton said Drew Brees will start, but it will be interesting to see how long Brees plays. Six days after breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing record, Brees enters Sunday with only a 190-yard edge on Tom Brady. While New England has to win to nail down the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Saints are locked into the NFC's third seed if San Francisco beats St. Louis. After a few players were hurt before the postseason last year, look for Payton to get his starters out if the scoreboard shows the 49ers with a big early lead."