CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sean Payton and Drew Brees made some more NFL history on Monday night. And they have their defense to thank for it. Payton and Brees won their 117th regular-season game together when the New Orleans Saints survived a 12-9 slugfest with the rival Carolina Panthers - passing Don Shula and Dan Marino for second place among coach/QB combos during the Super Bowl era. They trail only Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, who have a whopping 205 regular-season wins together.

The Saints (12-2) now need just one more victory to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs which would be huge considering how much their offense has struggled away from home over the past three weeks.

Brees threw for just 203 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception Monday night. He also had a two-point conversion pass attempt intercepted and returned for a Panthers two-point play instead early in the fourth quarter.

Check out the rest of the NFL playoff picture with live playoff odds from ESPN's Football Power Index.

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