To hear that the Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox is 7-0 in New Orleans against the Saints is quite news to anyone who rarely follows both teams, but this is the beauty of the NFL as both the Panthers and Saints square off on Sunday in New Orleans in a game that would have easily be handed to the Saints if not for the record.

Yes, Fox as the Panthers head coach is 7-0 and this Sunday’s encounter against the Saints can only test if New Orleans can handle the pressure and win over a 3-4 Carolina team. Also to compound the issue, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme has never lost a start at the Superdome dating back to his time in college at Louisiana-Lafayette.

As this game just keeps getting more and more intense with all these statistics, what’s more crucial is the fact that a 7-0 team is looking to go 8-0 and undefeated for the season; at least that’s what the running back duo of Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush think.

Though Delhomme almost lost his starting job a couple of weeks ago, after a poor performance in the loss to the Buffalo Bills, the upset win against the Arizona Cardinals meant he reassured his coach of the confidence he has in the quarterback and Fox would stick with the veteran at least through this weekend for the astonishing record over the Saints.

“I knew he'd fight through it, and he did, “Fox said of Delhomme.

Outside of the coach and quarterback statistics, the Panthers would need their ever improving secondary to slow down Saints quarterback Drew Brees. The Panthers secondary currently ranks fifth in the league in yards per attempt allowed. Also their running back duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will have to hit the ground running early in order for Carolina to have any edge in this game.

For the Saints to snap their seven-game losing streak, at home, to the Panthers, they would have to rely on not only Brees, but the defense to stop Carolina’s running game. Just as the Panthers have a strong ground game though, the Saints are just as able and equal to the task at hand with leading rusher Thomas, who scored two touchdowns on Monday Night, along with Bush and Mike Bell.

“I think our best is yet to come,” said Brees.

On Monday Night against the Atlanta Falcons, Brees, led the Saints, a team averaging 39.0 points per game [first in NFL], with his two touchdowns as he also passed for 308 yards against Atlanta. That added to his record and numbers at home; throwing for 1,225 yards, 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions at the Superdome.

Unfortunately for Brees - even with his numbers this season - his last three encounters against the Panthers at the Superdome have ended in losses. In his last home encounter against Carolina, Brees threw four touchdown passes and it still was not enough as the Panthers escaped the Superdome with a 33-31 win courtesy of a John Kasay 42-yard field goal with only a second left in the game.

To look at this game as just another regular season game or win for New Orleans would be a big mistake. Though the Panthers have averaged 27 point per game in their last six meetings during this winning streak in New Orleans, they have won three of their last four beating the Cardinals 34-21 on Sunday.

Just as the Saints have a great defense led by Will Smith, Charles Grant and Anthony Hargrove, one cannot ignore the veteran leadership of Carolina’s Julius Peppers who was condemned for having a slow start, but has turned it around. With his jumping interception that he returned for a 13-yard touchdown run, he has also accumulated six sacks in four games.

Both teams have weapons on both side of the field to guarantee another great performance at the Superdome.