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In the latter stages of yet another losing season, the Detroit Lions suffered a close defeat at home to the Chicago Bears.

The Lions haven’t lost since that game — despite trailing by 20 or more points in each of the past two weeks — and will try to add to their spectacular turnaround as the Bears visit Ford Field again Monday night.

Detroit was 2-9 and had dropped 46 of its previous 51 games when it welcomed Chicago on Dec. 5. The Lions led by three entering the fourth quarter of that game, but the Bears rallied to win on a touchdown pass by Jay Cutler.

Detroit bounced back from that 24-20 defeat by topping eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay to start its current eight-game win streak, the NFL’s longest active run. The Lions (4-0) are also enjoying their best start since 1956 thanks in large part to a pair of incredible comebacks.

Detroit was behind 20-0 at halftime in Minnesota on Sept. 25 before pulling out a 26-23 overtime win and trailed 27-3 in Dallas early in the third quarter of last week’s 34-30 victory.

Bobby Carpenter and Chris Houston returned interceptions for touchdowns to help their team match the largest comeback on the road in league history. Calvin Johnson tied another NFL mark by catching two TD passes for the fourth straight game, and Jason Hanson added a 51-yard field goal as the Lions became the first team to rally from 20-plus point deficits in two consecutive victories.

“We played good in the second half to come back and steal it. We have to play better in the first half; we know that. We have to come out and improve next week,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

The Lions get a chance to showcase that improvement during their first Monday night game in a decade and will try to improve to 5-0 for the first time since winning their first six games in 1956, the year before the franchise’s most recent NFL championship. They’re also seeking their first nine-game win streak since Nov. 7, 1953-Oct. 16, 1954.

They are facing a Bears team that snapped a two-game skid while not playing its best during a 34-29 home win over Carolina.

Chicago (2-2) gave up 543 yards to the Panthers — the most since yielding a franchise-worst 583 in a win over the Los Angeles Rams in 1982 — and might not have prevailed without D.J. Moore‘s interception return for a touchdown and Devin Hester‘s NFL-record 11th punt return for a score.

“We definitely have to play defense way better if we expect to win in Detroit because they’re playing unbelievable right now,” cornerback Charles Tillman told the team’s website. “They’re on fire. They’re 4-0, and in order for us to win against a team like that, we definitely have to bring our ‘A’ game in all three phases.”

Matt Forte, though, joined Walter Payton and Gale Sayers as the franchise’s only players to top 200 rushing yards in a game, finishing with 205 and a touchdown on 25 carries. The Bears’ 224 yards on the ground — their most in a game since 1988 — may have signaled their problems with relying too much on the pass are behind them.

Chicago rushed the ball 31 times, and Cutler attempted only 17 passes in the victory. The Bears threw the ball 82 times and ran the ball 24 times in their back-to-back defeats.

“We knew as an offense that we can run the ball and we just had to establish that first and then continue to do it the rest of the game,” Forte said.

Chicago has averaged 31.8 passing plays and 28.7 running plays during its six-game win streak over Detroit, and has topped 100 yards on the ground in each of the last five matchups.

Forte, though, was held to less than 65 rushing yards in both games last year but had a career-best 151 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 19-14 season-opening win over the Lions on Sept. 12, 2010. Cutler also threw for 372 yards, his most since joining the Bears before the 2009 season.

That game, however, was remembered more for a controversial incompletion. Johnson appeared to score the winning touchdown for Detroit with 24 seconds left, but officials ruled he didn’t maintain possession of the ball after landing in the end zone.

The Lions also lost Stafford to an injured right shoulder in the first half of that loss, and the former No. 1 draft pick played only two other games in 2010. He missed the rematch at Ford Field in December.

The Atlanta Falcons do not need to be reminded of how badly they were dominated by Green Bay in the playoffs last season. They also know the challenge of beating the Packers this time might be even tougher.

Seven months after the Packers stormed through Atlanta on their way to a Super Bowl title, the Falcons get a shot to avenge that loss Sunday night at the Georgia Dome.

Atlanta was the No. 1 seed in the NFC and playing at home in January, but Aaron Rodgers carved up the Falcons by going 31 of 36 for 366 yards with three touchdown passes and one rushing score in Green Bay’s 48-21 divisional playoff win.

While that game alone provides ample motivation for the Falcons (2-2), Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy knows his team is ready for the challenge.

“It’s definitely going to have a playoff feel,” McCarthy said. ‘We’re fully aware of how they feel about us. We’re definitely excited. This is going to be a hot game.”

The Packers (4-0) have won 10 straight games including postseason since losing 31-27 at New England in Week 15 last December — a game Rodgers sat out due to a concussion. Also healthier now than the last time it faced Atlanta, Green Bay is averaging a league-high 37.0 points and is coming off a 49-23 win over Denver last Sunday in which it totaled 507 yards.

Rodgers threw for a regular season career-high 408 yards against the Broncos and became the first player in NFL history with 400 passing yards, four passing TDs and two rushing scores in a single game. In addition to Rodgers, five other Packers scored touchdowns, including cornerback Charles Woodson‘s 11th career interception return for a score.

Receiver Greg Jennings has caught 17 passes for 222 yards over the last two games overall and 18 for 220 in his last two versus Atlanta.

“They have a great pedigree,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “They have an outstanding quarterback with a lot of weapons. That’s the biggest concern for us, being able to slow these guys down.”

Rodgers has MVP-caliber numbers through the first quarter of the season, completing 73.0 percent of his passes for 1,325 yards with 12 TDs and two interceptions. He could have more success versus a Falcons defense that allowed four touchdowns and 372 total yards in a 30-28 victory Sunday over a Seattle team that had scored 30 total points coming into the game.

“We gave up a lot of passing yards,” Smith said. “Each and every day you have concerns, and this one is obvious (going into the Green Bay game). We’ve got to make sure we have a plan on how to stop these guys. Aaron Rodgers is playing about as effectively as you can. It’s a challenge.”

Smith would like to see his defense put some consistent pressure on Rodgers. However, even after the offseason addition of Ray Edwards, the Falcons have just five sacks — none from the veteran defensive end.

On the other side of the ball, Atlanta would like to exploit a Green Bay defense that ranks 31st against the pass with 335.8 yards allowed per game and has yielded 25 plays of 20-plus yards.

“Guys come in and go over the game plan against the champions and try to see what they can do to move the ball,” said Packers cornerback Tramon Williams, who returned an interception 70 yards for a score in the playoff win over the Falcons. “People see something but we just have to make adjustments. We know this is the NFL and guys are going to move the ball, but it’s not OK.”

If the Falcons hope to move the ball through the air, quarterback Matt Ryan will need to be better than he was versus Green Bay in January, when he threw one touchdown and two interceptions and was sacked five times. He’s thrown six TDs and four interceptions this season and has been sacked 13 times — sixth-most in the NFL.

Even with star Roddy White on the field, rookie receiver Julio Jones is becoming another favorite of Ryan. The sixth overall pick, Jones set a single-game franchise record with 11 receptions last week and has totaled 242 yards over the last two games.

The Falcons also would like to get Michael Turner untracked after totaling 90 yards in his last two contests following consecutive 100-games to open the season. Turner ran for 231 on 49 carries in his previous two games versus Green Bay before he was held to 39 on 10 rushes in the playoff loss.

Tied atop the AFC East one-quarter of the way through the season, the New England Patriots may have expected their first-place counterparts to be the arch-rival New York Jets.

That’s not the case, as the Jets are struggling to meet expectations.

The Patriots seek to move two games ahead of New York on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, and also look for a measure of revenge for last season’s playoff defeat.

For a New England (3-1) team that has won eight of the last 10 division titles, owning a share of the AFC East lead shouldn’t come as a surprise. The surprising part is that the Patriots are tied with Buffalo and not the Jets (2-2).

The Patriots lead the NFL in total offense with 507.5 yards per game and their 135 points are tops in the AFC. They’ve scored 31 points or more in each game, including last Sunday’s 31-19 victory at Oakland.

Tom Brady has thrown for an NFL-high 1,553 passing yards and has an AFC-best 111.3 passer rating. He’s thrown 13 touchdown passes — five of them to favorite target Wes Welker, who has mind-boggling totals of 40 receptions, 616 yards and five scores through four games.

Brady has won three straight regular season home starts against the Jets and 29 consecutive regular season starts at Gillette Stadium overall, but the last loss was at the hands of New York on Nov. 12, 2006. More recently, Brady and the top-seeded Patriots fell 28-21 in Foxborough to the Jets in January’s divisional playoffs, when the quarterback completed 29 of 45 passes for 299 yards and two scores, but also got intercepted once and sacked five times.

Two of those sacks were by defensive end Shaun Ellis, who will be chasing the Jets’Mark Sanchez this time.

The 12th overall selection in the 2000 NFL draft, Ellis spent 11 seasons in New York before joining New England as a free agent last summer. His 72 1/2 sacks rank second in Jets history, 1 1/2 behind Mark Gastineau.

“It’s definitely going to be different for me,” Ellis said of facing his longtime teammates. “You just kind of treat it like you do in one of the green-and-white scrimmages (with the Jets). We did scrimmage against each other quite a bit.”

Ellis’ arrival in New England didn’t thrill Jets coach Rex Ryan, who said he had “a great deal of respect” for the lineman and “I wish him to be healthy,” but “there’s no way I’m going to wish him well.”

Ellis hasn’t been much of a factor in his first four games with his new team, totaling no sacks and three tackles for a unit that ranks last in the NFL in both overall and passing defense.

That defense could help remedy a Jets offense that totaled 150 yards in last week’s 34-17 loss at Baltimore.

That output was New York’s lowest in three seasons under Ryan, and the Jets also committed a season-high four turnovers.

Still, Patriots coach Bill Belichick thinks the Jets are a formidable opponent.

“Obviously, it wasn’t one of their better days,” Belichick said. “We’ve all been there before. When you look at a football team across the board, they’re a solid team and they do things well. We’ve all had our good days and our bad days. I’m impressed with them and I’ve got a lot of respect for them.

“I wouldn’t overreact to the Baltimore game.”

Ryan wants to see improvement.

“We’ve only won two games, so for whatever reason, we’ve gotta get better in a lot of areas,” he said.

One key area is offensive line, which has been without Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold for two games due to a high ankle sprain. He’s expected to return Sunday, and that should improve the protection for Sanchez, who has been sacked 11 times.

“He’s the best center in football,” Ryan said of Mangold.

Sanchez turned in his worst performance of the season against the Ravens, completing 11 of 35 passes for 119 yards with a 30.5 rating while three of his four turnovers were returned for touchdowns.

The Jets defense ranks second in the league against the pass, allowing 180.2 yards per game, but is giving up an average of 130.5 rushing yards to rank 27th. The unit will now have to overcome the loss of linebacker Bryan Thomas, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn left Achilles’ tendon last week.

The Patriots will also be missing a key defensive cog, as linebacker Jerod Mayo will miss several weeks with a left knee injury.

Despite their high-powered offense, the San Diego Chargers struggled out of the gate in each of their first four seasons under coach Norv Turner.

A strong defensive effort has helped prevent another slow start in his fifth year.

Off to their best start since 2006, the Chargers go for a third consecutive victory when they visit the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Stumbling in the first four games of the season had become a common theme for San Diego (3-1), which opened 1/3 in Turner’s first season of 2007 before going 2-2 in each of the next three.

The Chargers have been one of the most productive offensive teams in the NFL during his tenure, finishing in the top five in scoring in his first four years, and they recovered to make the playoffs in the first three of those seasons.

San Diego is ranked 15th in the league with 22.8 points per game this season, but the team is atop the AFC West thanks to its defense. The Chargers are surrendering 297.8 yards per contest — sixth in the NFL — and have given up an average of 16.6 points in their three wins.

“(That) means a lot. I want it to be (that way) when it’s all said and done in December,” linebacker Takeo Spikes told the team’s official website.

“Everything we’re going through right now is a learning curve. We’ve had some dogfight games early, especially here at home. We’re learning how to win close games. We find a way to win. Now our next step is going on the road and winning.”

Moving the ball consistently hasn’t been an issue for a Chargers team averaging 423.5 yards a game. Getting into the end zone, however, hasn’t been easy.

That was on display last week in a 26-16 win over Miami, as San Diego got four field goals from Nick Novak. Turner’s team is 16th in the NFL in red-zone efficiency, scoring eight touchdowns on 17 trips inside the 20.

“We’re finding ways to win,” said safety Eric Weddle, who had another late-game interception. “If that’s all you can say about us, then that’s a good thing to say.”

Antonio Gates‘ absence surely has plenty to do with San Diego’s offensive struggles. The seven-time Pro Bowl tight end, dealing with lingering plantar fasciitis in his right foot, was held out for the second consecutive week against the Dolphins and is unlikely to be available Sunday.

“We still haven’t hit our stride without one of our best players on offense,” backup tight end Randy McMichael said.

“It’s amazing how big a part of this offense he is. It’s really a tight-end friendly offense. He’s one of the best who’s ever played this game. You can tell when he’s not out there. We really want him to be back out there. While he’s not there we have to go out and continue to try to win games.”

With Gates sidelined, running back Ryan Mathews has picked up the pace. The second-year player has 542 yards from scrimmage, fourth most in the league.

“As well as he’s playing, he’s (still) just getting a feel for what it’s like to play in this league,” Turner told the Chargers’ official website.

Mathews rushed for a career-high 120 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-28 win at Denver on Jan. 2. San Diego has averaged 36.0 points in taking eight of the last 10 meetings.

The Broncos’ Kyle Orton saw his struggles continue in a 49-23 loss to Green Bay on Sunday. He threw for 273 and three touchdowns but was picked off a season-high three times, bringing his turnover total to eight. Orton is tied with the Chargers’ Philip Rivers with a league-worst six interceptions.

Despite his poor play, Orton will remain under center despite calls from fans to start Tim Tebow. Orton has gone 6-20 as a starter since winning his first six games with Denver (1-3).

“We need our STARTING quarterback to get experience, for us to improve,” coach John Fox said. “That’s the idea behind that. He needs to get better in our system. I know he gets judged on the past couple of years. But we are trying to get him better in our system and use that experience to get better.”

While Fox is hesitant to make a change at quarterback, Willis McGahee has supplanted Knowshon Moreno as Denver’s No. 1 running back. McGahee recorded his second 100-yard effort in three weeks with 103 yards on 15 carries against the Packers.

“We’re in a week-to-week, or a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ league, so right now, I think it’s fair to say that Willis is that guy,” Fox said. “I think his performance has kind of been the proof.”

Although they’ve looked sluggish at times and haven’t put together a convincing victory, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied for first in the NFC South.

The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a similar position — atop their division thanks to several gritty wins.

In a matchup between surprising division leaders, the Buccaneers look to win a fourth straight game Sunday when they visit a 49ers team hoping to build on a thrilling comeback which capped a successful week-long trip.

Tampa Bay (3-1) travels to San Francisco in a short week after beating Indianapolis 24-17 on Monday night to keep pace with New Orleans in the South. The Buccaneers had some trouble with the winless Colts, trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, and didn’t take their first lead until LeGarrette Blount capped the scoring with a 35-yard TD run with 3:15 remaining.

“We just showed what this team is,” cornerback Ronde Barber said. “It’s a very resilient football team.”

It’s also a bit of a sloppy team. The Bucs managed to overcome touchdown passes of 87 and 59 yards, as well as 14 penalties for 106 yards.

“It really wasn’t pretty the whole time, but that’s us,” said Josh Freeman, who threw for a season-best 287 yards with a passing and rushing TD.

Winning ugly has been common for Tampa Bay. After rallying from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat winless Minnesota 24-20 in Week 2, the Bucs nearly blew a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 16-13 win over Atlanta on Sept. 25.

“Survive and advance. That’s what we’re after,” coach Raheem Morris said. “The fact is you’re 3-1. And you’re very excited about it. Got a short week and we’re going to San Francisco.”

Tampa Bay, trying to open 4-1 for the first time since 2005, won at Candlestick Park 21-0 last November. Freeman passed for two touchdowns as the Bucs snapped an eight-game losing streak in San Francisco and won for just the second time in 13 games there.

Duplicating that performance likely won’t be easy.

An injured Alex Smith missed that game as the 49ers were held to 189 total yards. San Francisco opened last season with five straight losses, but Smith now has the team in position to start 4-1 for the first time since 2002 — the last time it won the NFC West.

The 49ers (3-1) have a two-game lead atop the division following last Sunday’s stunning 24-23 comeback win in Philadelphia. Smith completed 13 of 17 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the second half as San Francisco rallied from a 23-3 third-quarter deficit.

“It’s a great character builder for a young team,” first-year coach Jim Harbaughsaid. “To really know and trust and believe that they can and will do well (and) believe that they are good enough to do well — that’s big. That’s the way we wanted them to play, and that’s the way they played.”

The win came after Harbaugh decided to have his team spend a week in Ohio following a 13-8 comeback victory at Cincinnati on Sept. 25.

“We’re just following, believing, and great things are happening,” Frank Gore said. “As long as we just keep following our leader and keep believing in our leader, we’ll be fine.”

Gore, who had been bothered by a sprained right ankle and averaged 2.5 yards per carry in the first three games, got on track against the Eagles with a season-best 127 yards on 15 carries.

The 49ers are 28th in the league in total offense at 292.0 yards per game but should find success if they continue to get big games from the two-time Pro Bowl running back. Since the start of the 2007 season, San Francisco is 11-4 when Gore reaches the 100-yard mark and 14-29 when he doesn’t.

He’ll be facing a Tampa Bay defense that is 11th against the run, allowing an average of 101.0 yards. The Bucs limited Gore to 23 yards on 12 attempts last year.

The 49ers’ run defense is coming off a superb showing, holding Philadelphia’sLeSean McCoy, the NFC’s leading rusher through the first three weeks, to 18 yards on nine carries.

It will now try to slow down Blount, who ran for a season-best 127 yards Monday and is third in the NFL in rushing over the last three weeks with 279.

Whether Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson was making a bold prediction or simply instilling confidence in his team by stating it will win the AFC West, the message is clear — expectations are heightened.

The same can be said for the Houston Texans, though they’ll play without injured All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson when the teams meet Sunday at Reliant Stadium.

Jackson continues to be vocal regarding the progress of his Raiders (2-2), even after last week’s 31-19 loss to New England.

“We’re going to do everything we can to get in the playoffs and go challenge for a Super Bowl. I am not backing down from that,” Jackson said.

It may be wishful thinking for a team which hasn’t won more than eight games since going 11-5 in 2002 — the franchise’s last Super Bowl appearance — but the Raiders seem to be buying into that goal.

“We just finished the first quarter of the season,” cornerback Stanford Routt said. “We’ve got 12 more. All the challenges from here on out, they’re just going to get bigger and they’re going to get more important.”

Houston (3-1), tied with Tennessee for the AFC South lead, may be facing its biggest challenge yet — winning without its star receiver.

Johnson injured his right hamstring in last week’s 17-10 win over defending AFC champion Pittsburgh. He had a minor procedure done Wednesday, and coach Gary Kubiak said Johnson will miss “a period of time.”

“We’re probably going to get played a little differently,” Kubiak said. “When Andre’s on your team, everybody tries to take him away.

“We can’t replace Andre. We’ve got to, as a group, try to replace all the production that he adds on the field. That means everybody’s got to pick it up, and we’ll have a chance to prove it.”

Luckily for the Texans, they’ll be facing the Raiders’ 29th-ranked defense which allows 409.8 yards and 28.3 points per game.

Arian Foster, who rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown in a 31-24 win over Oakland on Oct. 3, 2010, seems fully recovered from a hamstring injury after carrying 30 times for 155 yards and a score last week.

Foster may have to shoulder more of the offensive load Sunday with Johnson sidelined and backup running back Ben Tate nursing a groin injury.

“We’ve always leaned on him pretty good,” Kubiak said of Foster. “When we run the football 30-35 times in a game, we’re usually playing pretty good football as a team. I like to think we can do that every week.”

Without Johnson, Matt Schaub – sixth in the league with a 101.7 passer rating — will have to search for other targets. Johnson has caught 25 passes, while tight end Owen Daniels is second on the team with 14 catches.

Jacoby Jones will get the start in Johnson’s place, and Kevin Walter and Bryant Johnson will rotate as well.

“We’re going to have to have some guys step up and play well,” Kubiak said.

The Raiders have some of their own offensive issues to work out.

Oakland gained a season-high 504 yards against New England, though Jason Campbell threw two interceptions to snuff out potential scoring drives which resulted in the Raiders scoring a season-low for points.

Darren McFadden was held out of the end zone and gained 75 yards on the ground, though 41 of them came on one run. In three games against Houston, McFadden has rushed 30 times for 91 yards and no touchdowns.

The Raiders rank eighth averaging 410.8 total yards, while the Texans are fourth in the league allowing 17.5 points per game.

“We know we can be a legit and an elite offense in this league,” Campbell said. “We’ve done it. Not just one week here and there. We’ve done it week in and week out. … We definitely feel like we have the ability and we have what it takes to get to the next level.”

The Texans have won five of the six all-time meetings, taking both matchups in Houston by an average of 18.0 points.

A surprisingly strong defense has the Cincinnati Bengals optimistic about their future, while their first-year quarterback’s continued improvement bodes well for the offense.

Andy Dalton and the Bengals face off with fellow rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbertand the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

After playing three teams that ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in total offense, Cincinnati (2-2) showed it could compete against one of the league’s top teams, handing Buffalo its first loss in a 23-20 win last Sunday.

The Bengals gave up 273 yards of total offense and moved to the top of the league in overall defense for the first time since 1983. They are allowing 275.5 yards per game and have surrendered 347 rushing yards.

“Everyone was counting us out as being the worst team in the NFL,” linebackerRey Maualuga said. “We don’t buy into all of that. We just control what we can control. That’s playing fast, disciplined, effort defense and flying to the ball. … I know that’s a good statistic, but then again, it’s only been four games.”

Cincinnati has similar hopes for the development of its offense. Wide receiver A.J. Green, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, and Dalton, the team’s second-round pick, continue to improve.

After struggling in the first half against Buffalo, Dalton completed 11 of 16 passes for 182 yards as the Bengals outscored the Bills 20-3 after the break. He ran in 3 yards for the tying score with 4:19 remaining in the game, then converted a key third-and-3 to set up Mike Nugent‘s 43-yard field goal with 1:48 left.

“It’s not about whether he’s got Superman talent or all this,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “He knows how to get you in and out of the huddle and put you in the good situations, and he’s going to play with his heart. And that’s going to help you win football games.”

Dalton still has room to grow. His 76.9 passer rating ranks 27th in the league, and he’s completing only 58.1 percent of his passes. He’s also thrown four interceptions to one touchdown in the last two games.

While Dalton was helped last week by a 104-yard rushing effort by Cedric Benson, the running back is still waiting for word from the NFL regarding his appeal of a three-game suspension for an offseason arrest.

It’s been a steeper learning curve for Gabbert. After the Jaguars (1-3) releasedDavid Garrard before the start of the season, Luke McCown was named the starter, but he struggled and Jacksonville turned the offense over to the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft.

Gabbert is 0-2 as a starter. He completed 16 of 42 passes for 196 yards while throwing one touchdown and one interception in a 23-10 loss to New Orleans last Sunday, getting sacked three times.

Gabbert has a league-worst 62.9 passer rating, completing 47.8 percent of his attempts.

“Once Blaine tightens his footwork up, we’re going to be fine,” tight end Marcedes Lewis said.

With the offense last in the league with 39 points, including six in the second half, coach Jack Del Rio wanted to open things up last Sunday. Maurice Jones-Drew was limited to three touches in the first half before finishing with 84 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said he wants to get Jones-Drew — third in the league with 97.8 rushing yards per game — more touches, but that may prove to be difficult against the Bengals’ defense.

Still, the Jaguars don’t believe the offense is as bad as the statistics show.

“I think there are a lot of things that are very close,” Del Rio said. “I recognize the fact that 10 points a game won’t get it done, and we have design on much better, much more, and need it. No amount of bellyaching is going to help that process improve.

“It’s execution, it’s taking care of the little details and making the plays that are there to be made. We need production, we need play-making and that’s what we’re looking for.”

This is the first meeting between these teams since Cincinnati’s 21-19 win in 2008. The Jaguars have won seven straight at home in the series.

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have had little trouble piling up yards, points and victories.

The Carolina Panthers have been almost as efficient at moving the ball down the field behind rookie Cam Newton, but costly mistakes have subsequently resulted in fewer scores and wins.

In a matchup between two potent offenses from the NFC South, Brees looks to lead the Saints to a fourth straight victory Sunday against Newton and the Panthers, who are coming off another disappointing defeat.

New Orleans (3-1) is second in the league in offense, averaging 471.5 yards, while Carolina is third with an average of 451.8. The Saints, who swept the season series from the Panthers last year for the first time since 2001, are also near the top of the NFL in scoring, ranking fifth with an average of 31.8 points. The Panthers (1-3), however, are well off that pace at 17th with an average of 22.3 points.

Carolina’s offensive shortcomings were on full display in last Sunday’s 34-29 loss to Chicago.

Although the Panthers had a season high in points, miscues prevented them from getting more. While Carolina amassed a franchise-record 543 yards, Newton had an interception returned for a touchdown and Olindo Mare missed one field goal and had another blocked.

The Panthers also failed to come up with critical first downs, converting just 2 of 12 third-down attempts. They’re converting 32.7 percent of their third downs, ranking 22nd.

“We’re playing good enough to win,” first-year coach Ron Rivera said. “We are continuing to do things to hurt ourselves more so than anything else. We played a good team (Sunday), and we didn’t give ourselves a chance to win. I told our guys it’s hard enough beating one team let alone two.”

The Panthers had similar problems in their first two losses, squandering second-half leads over Arizona in their opener and over Green Bay in Week 2.

“If you really go back and look at it, every game we’ve lost, we’ve had an opportunity to finish somebody off,” Rivera said. “As the rest of us catch up to what’s happening with Cam — because I think some of us aren’t growing at the same pace — when the rest of us catch up with him, I think we can be a better football team,”

Newton has accounted for all nine of Carolina’s touchdowns, and is the first player in NFL history with at least four touchdown passes and four rushing TDs in his first four career games. That doesn’t mean much for him, however, as he would much rather have his team atop the division.

“For a person to tell me you can’t win them all, that’s a loser’s mentality,” he said. “I play the game and I want to win every single game I play. Obviously it hurts when I lose.”

Newton has thrown for only 24 fewer yards than Brees, who ranks second in the NFL with 1,410 yards, but has an unflattering touchdown-to-interception ratio. Whereas Brees has 10 touchdowns and four interceptions, Newton has five of each.

Brees isn’t coming off of one of his best performances, however, and like the Panthers, the Saints had trouble getting the ball in the end zone.

In last Sunday’s 23-10 win over Jacksonville, New Orleans racked up 503 yards, but Brees threw two interceptions, John Kasay missed two long field goals and the Saints managed nine second-half points.

Brees is eager to get New Orleans, second in the NFL in third down conversions at 55.2 percent, again firing on all cylinders.

“If you had told us before the game that you’re going to have 500 yards of total offense, we would have thought that’s 40 points,” said the five-time Pro Bowler, who is averaging 311.0 yards with eight TDs and three interceptions in his last four games against Carolina. “Unfortunately, it was 23 points because we got inside the 20 three times in the second half and didn’t come away with touchdowns.

“So that’s disappointing, but we feel we have proven that we can move the ball. Now we just got to score touchdowns.”

Brees and the Saints should have better luck against a Carolina team that has allowed at least 28 points in three of its four games. The lone exception was a 16-10 Week 3 win over offensively inept Jacksonville, in which rookie Blaine Gabbertwas making his first start.

New Orleans also had little trouble slowing down the Jaguars, but allowed an average of 372.7 yards and 29.3 points in its first three games.