Kansas City -- No. 1 vs. No. 32 sounds like the biggest mismatch of the day.

The offense that's gobbled up the most yardage in the NFL this season will face off against the defense that's given up the most.

In this corner are the New Orleans Saints (4-5), with Drew Brees on pace to smash Dan Marino's NFL record of 5,084 yards passing.

In the other corner, on wobbly legs, stand the injury-wrecked Kansas City Chiefs (1-8). Their defense, which could have four starters out and maybe more, has been allowing 406.2 yards. The Saints have been averaging 416.2.

So what exactly is the Saints' team record for most points in a game? Fifty-one, against St. Louis in 1976. And the Chiefs record for most points given up? Fifty-one, to Seattle in 1983.

Might history be made? The KC defense, when it was a lot healthier than it is now, already gave up Tennessee's biggest lead overcome (21 points) and Tampa Bay's most yards rushing (352).

So why are the Saints favored by only 5 points? An 0-4 road record, for one thing.

For another, the Chiefs behind the emerging Tyler Thigpen at quarterback have not exactly been getting blown out the last three weeks. Losses to Tampa, San Diego and the New York Jets were by a combined eight points. In every instance, the energetic young Chiefs lost a second-half lead.

"They very well could have won these last three games, and when you flip on the film they don't look like a 1-8 team," said Brees, who is averaging more than 325 yards through the air.

"We know we have our work cut out for us playing at Arrowhead. When I played for the Chargers, they were an AFC opponent and we'd go there once a year and it was always an extremely difficult place to play."

Bruce returns as 49er

San Francisco -- Isaac Bruce is a tough guy to figure out, and he seems to be an even tougher guy to befriend. Many of his Rams teammates never managed it during the prolific receiver's 14 years with the club, and his new crew in San Francisco isn't having much more success.

When the 49ers host the Rams at Candlestick Park today in an otherwise banal matchup between two 2-7 teams with interim coaches and gaping injury problems, many St. Louis fans will be eager to see how the franchise leader in most significant receiving categories is faring on the West Coast.

But will Torry Holt, Marc Bulger or the Rams' horned helmets spark any particular emotions in Bruce, who had been with the club since its final season in Los Angeles?

"Not at all," Bruce said. "I don't live my life emotionally. I live a principle-led life. I know business is business, and sometimes business falls on people who don't want it to fall on them. It fell on Isaac Bruce. I wasn't surprised."