CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are 1-4-1 over the last six weeks, and they are winless three games into their toughest stretch of the season. Their offensive line is a mess, and their defense is about to face a team that somewhat easily rolled up 44 points Sunday night.

But somehow, they still sit atop the NFC South (by .009 percentage points) going into Thursday night’s home matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

“Win this game, you stay in first place,” coach Ron Rivera said Monday. “This division, I think we’re going to beat each other up. It’s almost going to be a game of attrition — who survives at the end of the year.”

The NFC South is not going to strike anyone as strong from top to bottom, with some of the league’s top teams slugging it out against each other. If attrition is needed, it may be more about being the best of the not-so-good.

But it is unlikely that whoever wins the division will apologize, and Thursday night is an opportunity for the Panthers to inch ahead in their quest to become the NFC South’s first ever back-to-back champions.

“If you said at the start of training camp, or the start of OTAs, ‘Hey, you’ve got a chance on Week 9 to be playing for first place, would you take it?’ offensive coordinator Mike Shula asked reporters. “Yeah, I’d take it.”

While Shula has a major headache this week, trying to figure out how to game-plan with an offensive line that is 80 percent injured, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will once again be on limited sleep.

Sunday night, he watched film of the Seahawks game the Panthers had just lost while also keeping an eye on the Saints against the Packers. What he saw was New Orleans awake from its 2014 slumber to explode for 28 points in the second half.

“I’ve been there before, where (Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers) was last night, where it’s hitting you in a hurry. Not just the pass game, but the run game. It can steamroll in a hurry,” McDermott said.

The Saints scored a season-high 44 points, and their 193 rushing yards were their most since last November.

If there is good news for the Panthers, it is that game was in New Orleans, and the Saints tend to do things like that in the Superdome in prime time. But Thursday’s nationally televised game is in Charlotte and the Saints are a much different team on the road.

“(If) you want to win the division, you have to win within the division,” Rivera said. “And you’ve got to win at home.”

NOTES: RB Jonathan Stewart gained 79 rushing yards, his most since he had 79 in the 2011 season finale against the Saints. Stewart’s 16 attempts were his most since he had 17 against the Bears on Oct. 28, 2012. … TE Greg Olsen had just one catch and 16 yards on three targets. Those were all the fewest since he caught one pass for 14 yards on three targets against the 49ers on Nov. 10, 2013.

REPORT CARD VS. SEAHAWKS

–PASSING OFFENSE: D — QB Cam Newton completed just 12 passes, tied for the fewest of his career. He had almost no help from his makeshift and beat-up offensive line. That Newton was sacked just three times was a minor miracle. He also should have had a touchdown pass early in the second quarter, but receiver Kelvin Benjamin dropped a slant in the end zone. Newton made mistakes himself, including an ill-advised attempt at a shovel pass that was intercepted near midfield early in the third quarter.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: C — The Panthers, who had a stretch of four games in which they rushed for fewer than 100 yards, eclipsed the century mark for the third straight week. Despite run-blocking that was below average, RB Jonathan Stewart squeezed out 79 yards on 16 carries. Newton hit double-digit carries for the second time in three weeks, but he managed just 24 yards on 12 attempts.

–PASS DEFENSE: B — The Panthers held quarterback Russell Wilson in check until he went 4-for-4 for 53 yards and a touchdown on the winning drive. Wilson was sacked just once, but he was pressured into bad throws a handful of times. He also threw a red-zone interception late in the first half that bounced off the hands of RB Marshawn Lynch and into the hands of CB Josh Norman.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B — The 26th-ranked rush defense did a solid job against the league’s second-ranked run game. Lynch had 62 yards, with 25 coming on one play. Wilson gained 35 yards, 21 coming on two rushes during the winning drive.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: C — With Philly Brown in the NFL’s concussion protocol, Brenton Bersin attempted his first kickoff return since he was in high school. He brought the second-half kick to midfield, a 49-yard gain. Earlier, he botched his first punt return, which was recovered by Norman.

–COACHING: C-plus — Coach Ron Rivera got his team to bounce back from its blowout loss to the Packers and put the defending Super Bowl champs on the ropes. The problem is: The Panthers found a way to the Seahawks for the third straight season in Charlotte. Those three losses have been by a combined 13 points. Now Rivera has a short week to get his team ready for a first-place battle in the disappointing NFC South.