Big game Monday night in New Orleans, where the two teams with the league’s highest-ranked offenses will collide. It’s the 7-3 Patriots, the class of the AFC East and a popular preseason Super Bowl pick (Athlon among them), against the 10-0 Saints, the last undefeated team in the NFC.

Undefeated teams? The Patriots know something about that.

New England did the undefeated thing for 18 games two years ago before stumbling at the worst possible time. This year, though, it has been a steady diet of undefeated opponents that has defined the Patriots’ schedule.

When the Pats face the Saints, it will be the seventh time in 11 games that the team across the field has had a record with a big goose egg on the right side of the hyphen. And the challenge they face hasn’t gotten any easier as the season has progressed.

The Patriots won three of their first four games against undefeated opponents — Buffalo in Week 1 (I know, big whoop), Atlanta in Week 3 and Baltimore in Week 4. But they lost to the 1-0 Jets in Week 2, back when Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez were riding high, and Bill Belichick disciple Josh McDaniels got the better of his mentor when the Pats faced the 4-0 Broncos in Week 5.

The Pats’ next brush with perfection came two weeks ago, when they traveled to Indianapolis. If the words “fourth-and-2 from your own 28” ring a bell, you know how that turned out.

So the Patriots enter this game with a 3-3 mark against undefeated teams — and an 0-3 record on the road, unless you count a win over hapless Tampa Bay in London as an away game. The Patriots clearly have a few issues to iron out, but the Saints have every reason to be concerned that their perfect season could end Monday night.

Tom Brady has been on fire since the loss to Denver, assembling five consecutive games with 300 or more passing yards, throwing 14 of his 20 touchdowns and compiling a sizzling passer rating of 116.4. Randy Moss and Wes Welker have been soaring, too, and running back Laurence Maroney has given the running game some oomph with Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris out. And New England is catching the Saints at the right time; their secondary is a mess with Terry Porter out, Leigh Torrence on injured reserve and Jabari Greer and Randall Gay iffy. Rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and veteran safety Darren Sharper will have their hands full.

But the Saints haven’t lucked into their 10-0 start. Something has always clicked for them — if it wasn’t Drew Brees and the passing game, it was Pierre Thomas and the running game or a big play from the defense or special teams. And when it was all of the above — as was the case last week in a 38-7 win over Tampa Bay — the Saints have been unbeatable. So far.

Not that the Patriots will be intimidated. They are quite familiar with undefeated teams — something they won’t face again this season. Unless it’s in the playoffs.

A quick look at the rest of the Week 12 action (all games Sunday, all times Eastern):

REMATCHES

Indianapolis (10-0) at Houston (5-5), 1 p.m. The Colts’ spot among the unbeatens was teetering three weeks ago, when the Texans, trailing 20-17, lined up to kick a field goal that would send the game into overtime — except Kris Brown yanked it wide left. Same thing happened last week against the Titans — even the score was the same. So now the Texans are nestled between the red-hot Jaguars and Titans in the AFC South, their hopes of a first-ever playoff berth resting largely on whether they can beat the Colts for only the second time in their existence. Peyton Manning is struggling a bit these days — his interception against the Texans was the first of five in a three-week span after getting picked only four times in the first seven games — but he’s still playing as well as any quarterback in the league, a conversation that must include Houston’s Matt Schaub. The Texans need this game a lot more than the Colts do, but all these close wins in recent weeks appear to be making Manning kind of edgy. He’ll be looking to lock up this one well before Brown has any shot at redemption.

Cleveland (1-9) at Cincinnati (7-3), 1 p.m. Pity the Browns. I mean, beyond the normal dose of pity, consider their plight this week. They just lost a game they should have won against the equally pitiable Lions. You never know if Brady Quinn will ever play that well again, or if any game the rest of the season will be so much within their grasp. And now they face the AFC North-leading Bengals, who might be looking past this game if not for two things. One, they did something like that last week in Oakland, and paid dearly for it. And two, the Bengals needed every minute of overtime to beat the Browns, 23-20, in Week 4. Don’t count on similar drama this time.

Washington (3-7) at Philadelphia (6-4), 1 p.m. The Redskins’ roster looks more like a casualty list these days as players are falling left and right. Tight end Chris Cooley went down when the Eagles beat the Redskins the first time around, 27-17, in Week 7, and running back Clinton Portis suffered a concussion in the next game. He hasn’t played since, and last week his replacement, Ladell Betts, blew out his knee. Hello, I.R. The offensive line has been blasted by injuries, and top defenders Albert Haynesworth (ankle) and DeAngelo Hall (knee) are questionable this week. “It’s been brutal,” said Rock Cartwright, a third-string running back thrust into a starting role. So now backups-to-backups will have to contend with a Philly team that is fighting to catch up to Dallas. And the Eagles had a lot more talent than Washington to begin with.

Miami (5-5) at Buffalo (3-7), 1 p.m. The Bills’ injury woes are right up there with the Redskins’. They lost two more offensive linemen for the season in Week 11, leaving the team with only five healthy blockers at the beginning of the week. It has been like that all season, but give the Bills credit — the healthy survivors put up a fight last week at Jacksonville before allowing a late score by the Jaguars that made Perry Fewell a loser in his first game as interim coach. The Bills’ offense showed some spunk — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 297 yards, all but 100 of them to Terrell Owens — and the defense even held Maurice Jones-Drew to 66 yards rushing. Run defense has been the team’s biggest bugaboo other than injuries all year, and that certainly was the case when the Dolphins beat the Bills, 38-10, in Week 4. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 200 yards rushing in that game, but that definitely won’t happen again; Brown is out for the season with a foot injury. If the Bills are to win the rematch, they’ll need to stop Williams, who rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns in his first game sans Brown. Good luck with that.

Seattle (3-7) at St. Louis (1-9), 1 p.m. The Seahawks blanked the Rams in Week 1, 28-0, and the Rams have been trying to find some offense ever since. By force of sheer will (and a smidgen of help from an improving offensive line), Steven Jackson has already surpassed 1,000 rushing yards and ranks as one of the league’s top running backs, right there with Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson. But he hasn’t been getting much help, which, along with a defense that is equally weak against both the run and the pass, explain that 1-9 record. The Seahawks can’t run the ball worth a darn, though, so if the Rams’ rather ordinary pass rush can tee off on quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, St. Louis should have a decent shot at ending its 10-game home losing streak and evening the season series with Seattle.

Kansas City (3-7) at San Diego (7-3), 4:05 p.m. When the Chargers whipped the Chiefs, 37-7, in Week 7, wide receiver Chris Chambers was an afterthought in the San Diego offense. He didn’t catch a single ball. A week later he was kicked to the curb and the Chiefs, one of the receiver-neediest teams in the league, picked him up on waivers. Chambers since has gone from spare part to leading man, particularly in the wake of Dwayne Bowe’s four-game suspension. He has hauled in 10 balls — that’s one more than he caught in seven games with San Diego — for 249 yards and two touchdowns, and his heroics last week included a 61-yard catch-and-run Sunday that set up the Chiefs’ game-winning field goal in their upset of the Steelers. Most important, the Chiefs have won two of three games since his arrival. The Chargers’ last victory over Kansas City launched a five-game winning streak, and it’s unlikely the Chiefs will break it — even if they do have a new weapon. But Chambers should have more of an impact on this game than he did wearing lightning bolts.

FIRST OF TWO

Tampa Bay (1-9) at Atlanta (5-5), 1 p.m. What’s the only thing better than getting a home game after losing five of your first six road games? A home game against the Bucs. The Falcons, who are 4-0 at home this season, need a game like this to get back on track for a wild-card playoff berth. They got burned by Eli Manning in a loss to the Giants last week, but it’s unlikely Josh Freeman can be as effective, though the rookie certainly has had his moments. Jason Snelling appears to have the running game under control with Michael Turner out, but Matt Ryan needs to continue the progress he made last week, when he passed for two touchdowns and ended a stretch in which he threw at least one interception in six straight games. If the Falcons find themselves in the playoff hunt in Week 17, the bad news is they play their final game on the road. The good news: It’s against these same Bucs.

Chicago (4-6) at Minnesota (9-1), 4:15 p.m. The Vikings have already swept the Packers and Lions in the NFC North, but this is their first crack at the Bears. It’s the type of matchup that should be a showcase for the starting quarterbacks, but only one has lived up to the hype this season. Brett Favre has even surpassed it, if that’s possible, playing as well through 10 games as he ever has. He has thrown 21 touchdown passes and only three interceptions — which brings us to Chicago’s QB, Jay Cutler. Cutler threw four interceptions in Week 1 alone and leads the league in that negative stat, and he seldom has looked like the franchise savior the Bears thought they were getting when they traded for him last spring. But the Bears have problems beyond their quarterback, and it’s unlikely they’ll be able to knock off the Minnesota juggernaut. Their best hope of doing that is in Week 16, by which time the Vikings might be resting for the playoffs.

Pittsburgh (6-4) at Baltimore (5-5), 8:20 p.m. You know one reason why the Bengals are sitting so pretty in the AFC North? The Steelers and Ravens, their closet pursuers, still have to play each other — twice. A split in those games could go a long way toward helping Cincinnati lock it up. And if either Pittsburgh or Baltimore sweeps the other, the loser will be all but eliminated. The Ravens are definitely the more wobbly of these teams, having lost five of seven, and they surely remember last season, when the Steelers swept them in the regular season and then knocked them off in the AFC Championship Game, too. But the Steelers are coming off a shocking loss to Kansas City in which Ben Roethlisberger got his bell rung, and they almost certainly will be without safety Troy Polamalu, whose absence in five games this season has coincided with three of their losses. A postseason berth could be on the line when the Ravens go to Pittsburgh in Week 16, but this game sure has its own do-or-die feel to it.

ONE-SHOTS

Carolina (4-6) at New York Jets (4-6), 1 p.m. Talk about mirror images. Besides sharing the same losing record and similarly low hopes of making the playoffs, the Jets and Panthers rank second and third, respectively, in the league in rushing offense, and have quarterbacks in Mark Sanchez and Jake Delhomme who rank second and third, respectively, in the league in interceptions. In addition, Rex Ryan and John Fox both were defensive coordinators before ascending to their head coaching posts. One big difference, though: Ryan and Sanchez are rookies with the Jets, while Fox and Delhomme have been in Carolina forever. Though they might not be much longer.

Jacksonville (6-4) at San Francisco (4-6), 4:05 p.m. Talk about polar opposites. Winners of six of their last eight games, the Jaguars are one of the hottest teams in the AFC. The 49ers? They’ve lost six of eight. Jags quarterback David Garrard, a former fourth-round draft pick, doesn’t do much for your fantasy team, but he grinds out wins. 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, has thrown for more touchdowns (nine) in five games than Garrard has (eight) in 10 games, but he is only 1-3 as a starter since replacing Shaun Hill. Jags coach Jack Del Rio appears to be pushing all the right buttons lately, while 49ers coach Mike Singletary is still looking for the right combinations. And the Jaguars have exceeded most expectations this season, whereas the 49ers have fallen short. One thing they do have in common: Both teams lost to Indy and beat St. Louis. Then again, who hasn’t?

Arizona (7-3) at Tennessee (4-6), 4:15 p.m. Too bad for the Titans this is a home game — the Cardinals are only 2-3 in their own stadium, but 5-0 on the road. Even so, you have to like the Titans’ chances this week. Ever since somebody got the bright idea they could run the table after an 0-6 start, the Titans have played with the blissful ignorance and guts that make such feats possible. Among their four conquests were the teams directly ahead of them in the AFC South standings (Jacksonville and Houston), and now they face their biggest test yet — the defending NFC champs, who have a commanding three-game lead in the NFC West. Arizona ranks eighth in the league in rushing defense, but that dam has sprung some leaks in recent weeks, allowing 158 yards rushing to DeAngelo Williams, 166 to Steven Jackson and 123 to Justin Forsett. (Who? Precisely.) Chris Johnson could have 100 yards by halftime if the Cardinals don’t figure out something. Tennessee’s 31st-ranked passing defense might have trouble keeping up with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but that likely depends on the health of quarterback Kurt Warner, who got his head rattled last week but is expected to play. He’d better, because if it falls to Matt Leinart to get the job done, the Titans’ countdown to 10 wins is as good as halfway there.

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