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Brees, Saints set to meet rival Panthers

Oct 14, 2008 - 5:02 PM New Orleans (3-3) at Carolina (4-2), 1:00 pm EDT

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Before heading across the Atlantic Ocean, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints will visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in a crucial NFC South matchup.

The Panthers currently are in a three-way tie atop the division standings with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Saints are one game back in last place.

This will be the last game for New Orleans before heading to London to play the San Diego Chargers on October 26.

Brees completed 26-of-30 passes for 320 yards and three second-half touchdowns as the Saints cruised to a 34-3 victory over the Oakland Raiders last Sunday.

It could be a record-setting season for Brees, who is on pace to surpass Hall of Famer Dan Marino's mark of 5,084 passing yards in 1984.

The 29-year-old Brees is completing 71 percent of his passes for 1,993 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions this season. He is on pace to pass for 5,315 yards.

Reggie Bush set an NFL record during last Sunday's win, becoming the quickest running back to record 200 receptions. Reaching the milestone in 34 games, Bush also tied Arizona's Anquan Boldin for the fastest player to obtain the mark.

Carolina will not be riding a wave of momentum after suffering its worst loss of the season last week. Jake Delhomme was intercepted three times as the Panthers lost to the Buccaneers, 27-3, last Sunday.

"I can't really say this was a wake-up call," Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers said. "We just didn't play well. This can happen every week.

"If you don't play well, you're going to get beat period. Like I said, I expected to play better. We expected to play better, but we didn't."

Delhomme has passed for 1,338 and five scores with five interceptions this season.