Panthers at Saints
THE STORY: With a chance for a first-round playoff bye technically still on the table, the New Orleans Saints plan to play their starters when they host the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale Sunday. Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that the Saints are “playing it full speed ahead,” presumably meaning QB Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints' stars will start. The Saints can still earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, but they need some help from San Francisco. New Orleans will clinch the No. 2 seed with a win and a 49ers loss or tie, or a tie and a 49ers loss. The Saints have won the past three meetings, but two of them have gone down to the wire, including a 30-27 road win Oct. 9 in which Brees threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas with 50 seconds left.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Saints -9, O/U 55
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (6-9): While the 49ers have a seemingly easy win lined up against St. Louis, the Saints could have their hands full with Carolina, which has won two straight in convincing fashion behind rookie QB Cam Newton. Newton has 34 total touchdowns (20 passing, 14 rushing), the most by a rookie in NFL history. His 3,893 passing yards are the most by a rookie, and his 14 rushing touchdowns are the most by any quarterback in league history.
ABOUT THE SAINTS (12-3): New Orleans has won seven straight to lock up the NFC South title, but it still might not be enough to avoid playing in the first round of the playoffs. That's about the only thing left for the Saints to play for this week, as Brees already has broken Dan Marino's NFL record with 5,087 passing yards. Unable to control their own fate, the Saints might be content to keep their offensive machine running smoothly. They have a team-record 6,857 total yards. Brees has at least one touchdown pass in 42 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in NFL history (Johnny Unitas, 47), and has at least 20 completions in an NFL-record 35 straight games.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Saints TE Jimmy Graham needs four catches to become the first tight end in NFL history with 95 catches, 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in a season.
2. Panthers WR Steve Smith is third in the NFC with 1,308 receiving yards and needs 92 to reach 1,400 for the third time in his career. Smith leads the NFL with 27 catches of 20 or more yards.
3. Saints WR Marques Colston has 998 receiving yards and needs two yards to reach 1,000 for a team-record fifth season.