In short order, you will find out the identity of the NFC Souths best team. With two meetings scheduled over the next three weeks, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are set to battle for division supremacy as well as a potential first-round bye in the NFC playoff picture. Things get started this Sunday night in the Big Easy with the sequel set for Charlotte on Dec. 22. Catch all the action on TSN starting with Football Night in America at 7pm et/4pm pt. "Its like youre getting the best of the best," NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said when talking about this weeks affair, which will air nationally on "Sunday Night Football." "Youre going to see Carolinas defense, led by Luke Kuechly, going into the Superdome where weve seen everybody struggle to try and stop that offense with Drew Brees. Its going to be fantastic." Fantastic indeed. Carolina has won a franchise-record eight consecutive games, including last weeks dominating 27-6 victory over Tampa Bay. For their next trick the Panthers will attempt to become just the second NFL team to win nine consecutive this season (joining Kansas City) and the first club to beat Brees and Co. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another against the Bucs, while Carolinas defense, which leads the NFL in fewest points allowed (157), limited Tampa Bay to 206 total net yards and no touchdowns. Newton threw for 263 yards with two interceptions while adding 68 yards and a TD on the ground. Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr. each had touchdown catches in the rout. "People want to keep pointing at me, but the truth of the matter is our defense is playing lights out and giving us opportunities," admitted Newton. The Saints, meanwhile, are 6-0 at home this season and Brees leads the NFL with a 122.2 home passer rating, which includes 19 touchdowns and only three interceptions. However, New Orleans was blitzed in Seattle on Monday night when Russell Wilson had three touchdowns passes and the Seahawks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a resounding 34-7 win over the Saints. The Seattle defense did its part on Monday, limiting Brees to just 147 yards and a touchdown on 23-for-38 passing, and allowing the Saints to cross midfield just once in the first three quarters while also stopping NOLA twice on fourth down in the fourth quarter. The seven total points matched the lowest output the Saints have scored since Sean Payton took over the team in 2006, while the 188 total yards accrued were the fewest in Payton-era. "That first half was real tough and we just couldnt get anything going," said Brees. "We had a bunch of three-and-outs before we had that one drive where we scored. But after that we just couldnt do much at all. We took one in the chin today." With the loss, its first since dropping a game in New York to the Jets on Nov. 3, New Orleans fell into a tie for first in the NFC South with Carolina, and two games behind the Seahawks for the conferences top spot. "Well make sure well get the corrections made because theres a lot of things we didnt do well," said Payton. "Its a short week and we have some work to do here." The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Saints by a slim 19-17 margin after sweeping the season series a year ago. WHAT TO WATCH FOR This is your classic matchup of strength versus strength pitting New Orleans powerful offense against Carolinas league-leading D. Forget the Saints team you saw in Seattle, this is a totally different bunch on the fast track in the dome. New Orleans is unbeaten and averages 33.2 points a game at home this season while outscoring opponents 199-95 in six contests. The Panthers, on the other hand, have won four consecutive on the road and their defense is allowing an NFL-low 13.1 points per game and only 289.8 yards per contest, second best in football. Carolina is also the last team to actually beat the Saints in NOLA, earning a 44-38 decision last December. "There are a lot of things theyre doing offensively that make you say, Wow," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "A lot of people thought last year that Jimmy Graham had an off-year, but now watching him he looks like hes in the form he was two years ago. Darren Sproles, Ive got a bottle of Tums next to me because he is a heck of a football player. And Drew Brees is having a classic Drew Brees season." Rivera touched on the two players that make the New Orleans offense so difficult to deal with, matchup nightmares Graham and Sproles. The lengthy Graham has 68 receptions for 988 yards and 12 TDs on the season and six 100-yard games, the most ever for a tight end, while Sproles leads all NFL running backs with 216 catches, 1,872 receiving yards and 16 receiving TDs since 2011. Helping matters for Carolina could be the possible return of star pass rusher Charles Johnson, who has missed the last two games with a sprained knee. Johnson leads the Panthers with 8 1/2 sacks and since the 2010 season is one of just two NFL players with 40-plus sacks (41.5) and 10-plus forced fumbles (10). Kuechly, meanwhile, has settled in as the best middle linebacker in the game, compiling 266 tackles since debuting in 2012, the most in all of football over that period. The Carolina offense isnt nearly as formidable save for the dynamic Newton, who has thrown 19 touchdowns and rushed for six more so far this season. Veteran receiver Steve Smith and tight end Greg Olsen have been Newtons favorite targets but neither will pop the top off a defense at this stage. Newton, though, seems to have realized that he can live to play another down so to speak and punting the football isnt the worst thing in the world with his defense. Taking care of the football is paramount to the Panthers and Newton has done so in recent weeks, although he did throw two picks against Tampa Bay. Overall, Carolina has turned it over just seven times during its winning streak and is one of only five teams with a plus-10 turnover ratio. "We know that were going to have to minimize these turnovers," Newton said. OVERALL ANALYSIS A dismal trip to Seattle and a short week for the Saints was further exacerbated when the teams chartered flight out of the Pacific Northwest was delayed a day. "Its a setback and now youre on a short week, but we have to make the corrections," Payton said. "We have to quickly get focused on Carolina. Theyre playing as good football as anybody in the league right now." The best way to forget about the Seahawks and Seattle is to get back on the horse in the dome and halt Carolinas franchise-record winning streak. Expect the fast track to be the difference here before the Panthers rebound to hold serve in Charlotte down the road. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Saints 27, Panthers 17 Ken Daneyko Jersey . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. New Jersey Devils Jerseys . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. http://www.devilssale.com/customized/.C., won gold in the womens 200-metre backstroke, and Dominique Bouchard of North Bay, Ont. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Martin Brodeur Jersey . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday.NEW YORK -- Even with his team leading the Western Conference, Gregg Popovich said Sunday morning his San Antonio Spurs were playing C+ or B- basketball, adding there was "not much" he liked about their start. The Spurs, he said, were winning because of "good fortune," "corporate knowledge," and because "theyre older than dirt." Apparently Pop is as tough on his pupils as he is on those sideline reporters, though a 120-89 rout of the New York Knicks bumped up their grades. "I thought tonight we played a good, solid B+, A- game," Popovich said. "There were some good things out there." Just not from the team in orange. Coach Mike Woodson said the Knicks played with no pride, even with one of the NBAs marquee franchises making its lone visit to Madison Square Garden. Danny Green had 24 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Spurs fourth straight victory. Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points and Tony Parker had 17 in a game that was close for about 3 minutes. San Antonio scored the first 10 points, led by as many as 37, and was in complete control in between. "It was embarrassing for us to come here on our home court and lose a game like this," Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said. "It wasnt about losing the game, it was just how we lost the game. We didnt compete today and it showed out there on the court." Tim Duncan took just four shots but finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as San Antonio (6-1) shot 54 per cent. The Spurs spoiled the season debut of Knicks guard J.R. Smith, last seasons Sixth Man of the Year. Suspended the first five games of the season for violating the NBAs anti-drug program, Smith shot 1 of 9 and scored five points in 20 minutes. Anthony and Andrea Bargnani both scored 16 for the Knicks, who were outrebounded 51-33 and fell to 2-4 after a 6-0 start last season. "Im not worried but we do have to figure it out," Anthony said. "Whatever it is we have to figure out quickly, but as far as being worried, Im not worried about that. But we need to figure it out." The Spurs scored just 776 points a victory over Golden State on Friday, but had everything working offensively right from the opening tip Sunday.dddddddddddd Green hit two 3-pointers in the 10-0 start, Marco Belinellis 3 made it 17-4, and the Spurs hit 13 of 18 shots while opening a 35-17 lead after one quarter, matching their highest-scoring period of the season. The lead grew to 24 points in the second, the Spurs repeatedly moving the ball to an open player before the Knicks knew what was happening. San Antonio was making roughly two of every three shots for much of the first half and took a 61-45 lead into the locker room after shooting 62 per cent. "We just played our game and we made shots," Parker said. "When you make shots it helps, and the ball movement was great." Smith, who ended the post-season in a miserable shooting slump, opened this season the same way. He missed all five shots in the first half, unable to shake the rust after appearing in just one preseason game following summer knee surgery. "I didnt feel rusty at all. I just missed a lot of shots, didnt get to the basket like I wanted to and overall I didnt have a good game," Smith said. By the time he made a 3-pointer with 8:43 left in the third quarter for his first basket, the Knicks trailed by 26 points. The Spurs went up by 30 a few minutes later on another 3 by Green, and fans loudly booed when Amare Stoudemire missed both free throws with a little less than 3 minutes left in the period. The Knicks won both meetings last season, sweeping the Spurs for the first time in 10 years. But with centre Tyson Chandler sidelined with a broken leg, New York looked defenceless against the Western Conference champions. It was such a laugher that Popovich had Duncan, a career 69 per cent free throw shooter, take the shot when Woodson was called for a technical foul in the third quarter. Naturally, the way this one went, Duncan made it. NOTES: Popovich will face one of his former assistants Monday when the Spurs visit the Philadelphia 76ers, coached by Brett Brown. ... Metta World Peace scored 13 points for the Knicks. 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