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NEW ORLEANS -- This is what it has come to for the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers.Either they beat the Saints in the Superdome on Sunday, or they fall into last place in the NFC South by themselves with 10 games to go.You dont expect to start this way, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. Its a situation we are in now and its all about how youre going to respond from it.On its face, the matchup of the Saints (1-3) and Panthers (1-4) has the look of a game between two struggling teams who very well might be going nowhere this season.On the other hand, it could make for a desperate, high-stakes affair, given both teams are trying to salvage their season and believe it is still early enough to do so.Were not looking at them as a 1-4 team. Were looking at them as the returning NFC champions. We know that and just like when I was on a Super Bowl team, the next year, you get the best of every team, said Saints fullback John Kuhn, who played in the Super Bowl with Green Bay.This is two really good football teams going at each other. Throw the records out. Anybody watching this game is not going to be unsatisfied.Weve only played a quarter of the season, Kuhn added. Youve seen it in years past, especially with this division -- anything can happen. Weve got a lot of football left in front of us. So do they. It starts this week. We both understand whats going on.And its not as if either team has been on the wrong end of many lopsided scores. Both teams have each lost games by three points and one point. Those games came down to the final possession and a play here or there could have tipped the balance.The Panthers also played without star quarterback Cam Newton last Monday night against Tampa Bay and only lost on a last-second field goal.Newton, who had been held out because of a concussion, will play this week as the Panthers try to keep pace with the ever-prolific offense designed by Saints coach Sean Payton and executed by QB Drew Brees.We know the team were playing is a championship-level team that has lost some tough, close games, Payton said. Were going to have to be at our best.Here are some other story lines to watch as the Panthers invade the Superdome:NEWTONS NUMBERS: The Saints might be just what a struggling Newton needs. Newton, whose quarterback rating of 80.2 ranks 32nd in the league, often has played well against New Orleans, whose defense has been rated among the NFLs worst in three of the past four seasons and is again ranked 31st so far this season. Newton threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns last season at the Superdome and has 10 touchdowns and one interception in the past three games against New Orleans.HOPEFUL HISTORY: The Saints can look at their own franchise history for examples of why they still might emerge as playoff contenders -- if they can win this week. Under the current NFL playoff system, the Saints have twice made the playoffs after starting a season 1/3 -- once in 1990 and once in 2000.Were trying to be an ascending team -- a team that is trying to get better each and every week, Brees said. I feel like we have gotten better. We have learned and grown.WHERES THE RUSH?: Panthers starting defensive ends Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson have yet to register a sack this season through five games. Ealy said a major reason for that is opposing quarterbacks are getting the ball out quicker, giving the teams front four less time to get to the quarterback.Obviously quarterbacks are doing it for a reason, offensive coordinators are game-planning that way for a reason, Ealy said. They know what our front can do. It would be crazy for them to just be lax back there and know we are going to pressure with four or sometimes five guys. We see it as a sign of respect.GETTING DEFENSIVE: Although the Saints rank second-to-last in the NFL defensively, there have been signs of hope for the struggling unit. New Orleans ranks 13th in the NFL in red zone defense and tied for seventh in the league in limiting TDs on opposing offenses goal-to-go scenarios. Also, New Orleans much-maligned defense came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception in the fourth quarter of their comeback win in their game at San Diego on Oct. 2. Now theyre rested after a bye last week.STEWARTS RETURN: The Panthers are hoping to get Jonathan Stewart back on the field after the teams starting running back missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. When healthy, Stewart is difficult to bring down and can be among the best running backs in the league. If Stewart cant go, the Panthers will turn to Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for two TDs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Rashan Gary Jersey . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Custom Packers T-shirts . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Rashan Gary Jersey Large . PAUL, Minn. Cheap Custom Packers Jersey . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. BALTIMORE -- Although the Baltimore Ravens rarely bring out players in tandem to the podium, a notable exception was made after Sundays 13-7 win over Buffalo.Former high school teammates Shareece Wright and Jimmy Smith stood side by side, discussing their part in an outstanding defensive effort against elusive quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Bills.Wright made 11 tackles and Smith put the clamps on Buffalo standout receiver Sammy Watkins.Asked if he ever envisioned sharing a podium with Wright after an NFL game, Smith said, This is the first time for this, ever. But, I mean, this is a unique situation. Hopefully we can get the film one day and watch it when were old, sitting somewhere.Backed up by safeties Eric Weddle and Lardarius Webb, Wright and Smith helped Baltimore limit Taylor to a mere 111 yards passing. Weddle was signed as a free agent and Webb has been shifted to free safety from cornerback.Eric Weddle, hes a different kind of guy back there, Wright said. Hes like a defensive coordinator.Wright was burned several times last season after being signed in October. But on this day, he was exceptional.Big time, is how Weddle described it. Everybody got an eye-opener today of what hes all about.It happened quickly. Three plays into their season, the Bills were already digging out of negative territory.One 2-yard pass completion over the middle was all the positive yardage the Bills couldd muster.dddddddddddd. Running back LeSean McCoy was stuffed for a 6-yard loss and Taylors pass to the left was caught by Mike Gillisee for a 4-yard loss.Wright penetrated into the backfield to make the tackle on both losses, setting the tone for Baltimores defensive renaissance.A year ago, the Ravens repeatedly failed to come up with a big stop in the fourth quarter, one reason why they went 5-11 and lost nine games by eight points or fewer.Our corners played elite football out there, coach John Harbaugh said. If we can play like that in the back end, were going to have a chance to win some games.The pass defense was impressive, but Baltimore was also impenetrable against the run, allowing only 65 yards on 24 carries.Us keeping them to 60-plus yards was great, but obviously we can do better, defensive tackle Brandon Williams said. We want to hold them to zero.Lofty expectations, indeed, but the Ravens would like to think this is only the beginning.Today was just a glimpse of what we can become, Weddle said. Its still a work in progress. We still have areas we need to get better in, but when we needed to get a stop, we got it.And that gives our defense some confidence for the future.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '