Panthers vs. Saints: How the teams match up for the NFC wild-card game

Good Cam or bad Cam, which one are the New Orleans Saints going to be facing?

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, the NFL’s most valuable player two years ago, has been all over the map with his performances this season. He’s a different player from week to week.

For instance, in a Week 3 loss to the Saints, he had three interceptions and a putrid passer rating of 43.8. In the two weeks that followed, he threw a combined six touchdowns and had one interception in consecutive road victories over New England and Detroit.

Last month, two weeks after a four-touchdown performance in a victory over Green Bay, he finished the season with a stinker: a career-low passer rating of 31.5 in a 22-10 loss at Atlanta.

A big plus for Newton on Sunday is he has Greg Olsen back, after the seasoned tight end missed both losses to New Orleans this season. Olsen is typically a headache for the Saints, with 37 catches for 462 yards and five touchdowns against them in the past five games.

Getting defensive

A big change for the Saints this season is their capable defense, a refreshing change of pace for an organization that has put some historically bad units on the field.

Even so, the Saints had to overcome a lot of adversity to get to this point. Six players who were projected during the offseason to start have been lost to injury, including five since training camp.

New Orleans has picked off 20 passes, more than the past two seasons combined (18). Rookie Marshon Lattimore has had five of those, and he’s the first Saints cornerback to make the Pro Bowl since Eric Allen in 1995.

Passing fancy

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has extended his NFL-record streak to 12 consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 yards passing. He threw for 4,334 this season.

By the numbers

How teams compare statistically. All stats are per-game averages, except for turnover differential, which is for season (league rank in parentheses):

Category (NFL rank): CAR | NO

Points scored: 22.7 (12) | 28.0 (4)

Points allowed: 20.4 (T10) | 20.4 (T10)

Pass offense: 192.3 (28) | 261.8 (5)

Rush offense: 131.4 (4) | 129.4 (5)

Pass defense: 229.1 (18) | 224.8 (15)

Rush defense: 88.1 (3) | 111.7 (16)

Sacks: 50 (3) | 42 (T7)

Penalty yards: 42.6 (1) | 60.1 (T22)

Turnovers: 22.7 (12) | 28.0 (4)

Farmer’s pick

This is not a good matchup for the Panthers, who were swept by New Orleans this season. If Carolina sells out to stop the run, Brees will go to work with the passing game. What’s more, the Superdome is not a pleasant place for visitors. Too much Sean Payton and Brees.

SAINTS 28, PANTHERS 23