The Carolina Panthers (12-0) remained on track for an undefeated season but looked extremely sloppy trying to do it. They barely escaped with a 41-38 win over the struggling New Orleans Saints (4-8). If not for the incredible performance of Panther’s quarterback Cam Newton, the Panthers may just have been looking at their first loss of the season.

Newton threw 41 passes and completed 28 of them for 331 yards and 5 touchdowns. It was Newton’s remarkable 5 touchdowns that proved to be the difference. His final TD toss came with just a little over a minute left to seal the win for the Panthers to keep their undefeated streak intact, according to ESPN.

The New England Patriots (10-2) were handed their second straight loss by the woeful Philadelphia Eagles (5-7), 35-28. It was only the Patriots’ 5th loss at home in their last 56 home games. To say that the Patriots turned in a clunker would be an understatement. Dropped passes, stupid rookie throws by Tom Brady and a special teams performance that may have been the worst ever seen, displayed some serious problems in Foxboro. The Patriots had a sure handle on a first round bye in the playoffs but the loss caused them to be vaulted in the AFC rankings by both Cincinnati and Denver.

The playoff picture has begun to shake down but teams such as the Patriots and the Packers have been struggling while others seem to be hitting their stride like Arizona and Seattle. The Cardinals (10-2) and the Panthers (12-0) are perched neatly atop the NFC with Green Bay (8-4), Minnesota (8-4) and Seattle (7-5) hot on their heels. The NFC East continues to be a joke and it would be a shame for a winning team to miss the playoffs to an NFC East team that has a losing record.

In the AFC, the Bengals, Broncos and Patriots all sit confidently at the top with 10-2 records. It really doesn’t appear as if any other teams in the AFC will challenge these three for the title.