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NEW ORLEANS -- Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 45-16 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

What it means: The Saints (12-3) clinched the NFC South, which means they’ll be one of the top four seeds in the playoffs. They still have a shot at going as high as the No. 2 seed, but they’ll need to win their finale and hope San Francisco loses. The Falcons (9-6) already are in the playoffs, but now they can’t do any better than the No. 5 seed. Also, New Orleans’ victory means that, once again, no team has won the NFC South in consecutive years since the division came into existence in 2002.

Record time: With two minutes and 51 seconds left in the game, Drew Brees made history. With a touchdown pass to Darren Sproles, Brees broke Dan Marino's record for passing yards in a season. Marino had 5,084 yards in 1984. Brees came into the game needing 305 yards to break the record. He finished with 307 yards. Brees also threw four touchdown passes.

The Sproles factor: I might be overlooking someone, but I don’t think I’m too far off in saying Sproles was the best free-agent signing in the NFL this year. Sproles has made huge contributions as a runner, receiver and a return man. Early this season, I still saw some fans wearing Reggie Bush jerseys. I don’t think I’ve seen one in a couple of months.

The great debate: After watching the Saints absolutely dominate what had been a good Atlanta team for the past month or so, I think it’s fair to start talking about how the Saints match up with the Green Bay Packers. Remember, the Saints took the Packers down to the wire in the season opener at Lambeau Field. I know for certain the Saints are a better team now than they were in September. Yeah, you can bring San Francisco into the argument too, but that kind of waters things down. The Saints and Packers play great offense and a postseason game between them would be as exciting a game as you could ask for.

What I didn't like: From an Atlanta perspective, the way the Falcons lost this game had to be demoralizing. The Falcons had seemed to be on a roll in recent weeks. They’re already in the playoffs and they should have an easy finale. But the momentum Atlanta had built over the past month or so has been shattered. If they somehow end up facing the Saints again in the playoffs, that’s not a good psychological matchup. The Saints have defeated the Falcons twice already and that’s got to be in the heads of the Atlanta players.

What's next: The Saints host the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale on Sunday. The Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Thoughts on the Carolina Panthers’ 48-16 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

What it means: The Panthers are 6-9 and won’t finish last in the NFC South. That’s because the Buccaneers (4-11) clinched that. This is a classic late-season case of one team soaring and another falling faster than anyone could have imagined. The Panthers are going to head into the offseason with tons of optimism because they already have a high-powered offense. All they need is to get a few injured players back, tweak their defense a bit and they sure look like playoff contenders for the 2012 season. Tampa Bay lost its ninth straight game. Coach Raheem Morris made a big deal of “the race to 10 (wins)’’ last year. Looks like the Bucs are racing to 10 straight losses to end this season. Nice progress.

Best record: Peyton Manning’s record for passing yards by a rookie (3,739) had stood since 1998. But it’s been broken now. Carolina’s Cam Newton passed it early in the first quarter. Oh, by the way, Newton also had his 14^th rushing touchdown of the season, the most ever by a quarterback.

Best performance by a newcomer: Carolina safety Jonathan Nelson was signed off the practice squad this week due to an injury to Charles Godfrey. Nelson got the start and came up with an interception in the third quarter.

The Morris watch: There’s no question Morris is on the hot seat as his team has fallen apart since starting 4-2. I know there’s a small minority out there who say Morris should keep his job, replace himself as defensive coordinator and make a switch at offensive coordinator. Yeah, that’s brilliant and no doubt would put the Bucs straight into the Super Bowl next season. Actually, it’s ludicrous. It’s like having a refrigerator that hasn’t worked in more than two months and saying, “No need to call a repairman or get a new one because this thing just might kick in at any moment." The Bucs keep taking steps back and the team is in total disarray. There’s also the matter of Morris’ contract, which runs through 2012. If the Bucs somehow were even thinking about keeping Morris, they’d have to extend him because you can’t go into a season with a lame-duck coach (just ask the Panthers how that worked out with John Fox last year). If you do, you run the risk of the players tuning out the coach. Looks like some of that already has happened. It would be awfully tough to give Morris an extension as a reward for the way the Bucs have finished this season. I’m sure the fan base would be thrilled if that happens.

The Rob Chudzinski watch: Chudzinski is the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and his name is getting thrown about as a potential candidate for a job as a head coach. Yeah, maybe the Bucs go out and find a bigger name — and maybe they can’t. But the Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, should have been watching this game and saying, “Hmm, this Chudzinski guy is doing a pretty nice job with a rookie quarterback. Maybe we should put him on the list.’’

Blount benched: Running back LeGarrette Blount lost a fumble on Tampa Bay’s first offensive play. He was benched after that and the Bucs went with Kregg Lumpkin and Mossis Madu, before Blount was inserted back into the game in the third quarter. Nice to see Morris using discipline. Then again, it’s probably too little too late.

What’s next: The Panthers finish their season Jan. 1 at New Orleans. The Buccaneers play their final game the same day in Atlanta.