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NEW ORLEANS — The commonly accepted myth about the difficulty of beating a team three times in one season will be put to its latest test when the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints (11-5) host their division rivals Cam Newton Color Rush Jersey , the Carolina Panthers (11-5), in a wild-card playoff game Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.The Saints turned around an 0-2 season by beating the Panthers 34-13 in Charlotte in Week 3, igniting an eight-game winning streak. They then beat them in the Superdome 31-21 on Dec. 3.Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, teams that swept the regular-season series also won the playoff game 13 of 20 times, a 65 percent edge.The Saints are not banking their hopes on statistical probabilities but on a balanced offense that does not rely on 45 throws a game by Drew Brees and on a revitalized defense that so far has withstood a withering number of injuries to starters.Brees, who will turn 39 on Jan. 15, said he does feel an internal clock ticking on his career but treats every game with respect.“I prepare like every game could be my last or (like) it’s a playoff game or I’ve got something to prove and I’ve got an edge,” Brees said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh Michael Palardy Jersey , the playoffs are here, it’s time to ramp it up or things are a little more important.’ It’s always important for me.”There were some common threads in the Saints’ two regular-season victories over Carolina. The Panthers are ranked No. 7 in the NFL on defense, allowing 317.2 yards per game, and just 88.1 yards rushing, third best in the league. But Carolina yielded their most yards rushing this season to the Saints — 149 yards in Week 3 and 148 in Week 13.That’s a credit to rookie sensation Alvin Kamara and veteran running back Mark Ingram as well as to the Saints’ offensive line. Brees is the biggest beneficiary of a powerful running attack that is averaging 4.7 yards per carry, best in the NFL, and 129.4 yards per game, fifth in the league.Brees threw 137 fewer passes this year (536) but connected on 386 for an NFL-record 72.0 completion percentage. His 4,334 passing yards are nearly 800 yards fewer than his 2016 totals but just about equal to his 4 https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Sam-Mills-Jersey ,388 passing yards in 2009, the Saints’ Super Bowl season.“Sure is nice,” Brees said, smiling. “Does it change the way I prepare? No. Does it change my mindset going into a game? No. It’s just that when you add up the number of throws … if you take away five, seven, 10 attempts a game and those are going to the run game, that means you’re doing something right in the run game, and it probably means you’re playing good defense. It doesn’t force me to take as many chances.”The Saints also have done an excellent job putting a vise around Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, who happens to be the Panthers’ leading rusher. Newton has passed for just 350 yards in the two losses. He threw three interceptions in the first meeting https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Christian-Mccaffrey-Jersey , including one in the end zone. He is a dangerous runner, but his only gash run against the Saints this year was a 32-yard scramble in garbage time.The Panthers could have won the NFC South outright last week but were hamstrung by an inept offensive performance in a 22-10 loss to the Falcons. Newton completed just 14 of 34 passes for 180 yards and was picked off three times.Newton said the Panthers have erased that game from their memory banks and are poised to make a playoff statement.“This is when real football starts,” said Newton, who led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2015 with a 15-1 regular-season record. “(We’re) explaining it to the young guys and the guys who haven’t witnessed playoff football. This is where you are made or broke. I look forward to these types of moments because it brings out the best in individuals because there is so much pressure. We all know what they say about pressure — it does one of two things — and we’re hoping to shine like diamonds.”Each team will have a significant player available who did not play in either of the first two games: Carolina tight end Greg Olsen, who has been battling a foot injury all season, and Saints rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore.Saints coach Sean Payton said if Olsen is healthy, it could pose a threat to his defense because Olsen is “one of the better tight ends in the game. Not having him is significant and having him is huge.”Carolina coach Ron Rivera knows that Lattimore, who made the Pro Bowl, can help the Saints shut down any deep threat the Panthers have. Lattimore normally shadows the opponent’s best receiver https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Daryl-Williams-Jersey , so he may draw Devin Funchess, who has 63 catches for 840 yards.“When I watch (Lattimore), he’s a terrific football player,” Rivera said.The Panthers hope to have guard Trai Turner back after missing three games with concussion symptoms. Saints starting left tackle Terron Armstead (thigh) and wide receiver Michael Thomas (hamstring) were limited in practice on Wednesday but should be able to go. Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis arrived at work bright and early Monday morning to some unexpected fanfare after serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs.He was greeted by smiling teammates Luke Kuechly and Mike Adams, who stood at the front door to the team’s stadium holding it open for him. Coach Ron Rivera wore a new black t-shirt with a blue silhouette of Davis celebrating a big play that read “I’M BACK” during his news conference. Several other coaches and players strolled through the locker room wearing the t-shirt as well in support of Davis.Davis’ return, combined with the possible return of tight end Greg Olsen from a broken foot this week and the team’s dramatic 33-31 win Sunday over the New York Giants — Graham Gano booted a 63-yard field goal through the uprights with 1 second remaining allowing the Panthers to improve to 3-1 — had the locker room abuzz on Monday.“We got our leader back,” Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson said of Davis, Carolina’s all-time leading tackler.Rivera said as long as the 35-year-old Davis is in good football condition, he will start his 147th career regular season game this Sunday against the Washington Redskins.Davis told teammates he’s been channeling his energy the past month into working out and getting in the best shape of his life — which naturally led to some good-natured banter in the locker room.“Yeah https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Donte-Jackson-Jersey , he swore he had a six-pack, (but) he has about a two-pack,” joked cornerback Captain Munnerlyn.Munnerlyn said that Davis, who he views as his older brother, greeted him Monday by grabbing him tightly around the shoulders. He had to remind Davis he’d just played a football game on Sunday and was still sore.“I know he has a lot of built-up aggression in him right now,” Munnerlyn said with a laugh. “The Washington Redskins can get ready because I know that first week back when somebody touches the ball he’s going to want to go full throttle.”Rivera said he thought about giving the players a day off on what is known as “victory Monday,” but decided against it because he didn’t want Davis to have to wait until Wednesday to reunite with his teammates.“If he could have, he would have been here at the stadium at 12:01 a.m. (when his suspension was lifted), but unfortunately he would have been here by himself Greg Olsen Jersey ,” Rivera said.Along with welcoming him back, it was clear the Panthers were also trying to cheer Davis up. He announced on Twitter last week that his father had died.“I think being around the guys will be a good getaway for him,” Munnerlyn said.Davis posted a video on his Twitter in April acknowledging he tested positive for an estrogen blocker but said it was completely unintentional and “in no way would I ever do anything to cheat this game.” The 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner said he has been taking the same supplements for the last seven or eight years and never had any issues before.Davis didn’t talk to reporters Monday, saying he’d prefer to wait until later in the week as is normally his routine.The Panthers have clearly missed Davis’ energy and knack for making big plays. The Carolina defense squandered an 11-point fourth quarter lead on Sunday to Eli Manning and the Giants, only to get bailed out by Gano’s field goal.“We missed Thomas everywhere, on the practice field, in the locker room,” Panthers defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “When he’s removed from the building you feel the impact, you feel the void. You don’t replace Thomas Davis.”Rivera called Davis a “special locker room guy.”Olsen’s potential return is good news for Carolina’s offense.He led the team in yards receiving for three straight seasons from 2014-16 Fozzy Whittaker Color Rush Jersey , but has been plagued by a broken bone in his foot the past two seasons causing him to miss a combined 12 games. He re-broke his foot in the team’s Sept. 9 season opener, but is expected to practice fully on Wednesday and could play against the Redskins.“As long as (the doctors) are happy with how it is healing, a lot of it will be based on how I feel,” Olsen said. “That’s where we are right now. … How I feel will guide what I can and can’t do.”___