FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — For at least one weekend, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints ruled the NFC South.
The division lead was ripe for the taking, especially when Atlanta pulled off a thrilling comeback on Thursday night to down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Carolina Panthers could enact their revenge against the Saints, however, and are still pawing at the door.
Throughout the season, this piece will serve as a check-in on the four teams in the division, tracking their performance and noting the standout players from each game. Teams will be listed in the order of the division standing.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7 | 2-2 in division)
- Carolina Panthers (7-7 | 2-2 in division)
- Atlanta Falcons (5-9 | 2-3 in division)
- New Orleans Saints (4-10 | 3-2 in division)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last game: Lost 29-28 vs. Atlanta Falcons (5-9)
Offensive standout: WR Mike Evans
The perennial Pro Bowler wasted no time in making an impact after missing nearly two months due to injury. He caught six passes for 132 yards, more than double the Bucs' next leading receiver.
Defensive standout: S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Winfield was the Bucs' top tackler against the Falcons, recording 13 total takedowns. What earns him this spot, though, is that he made those 13 tackles without any misses. A clean sheet like that from a second-level defender is pretty impressive.
Needs improvement: Covering tight ends
This is an easy area to spotlight after Tampa Bay just allowed Kyle Pitts to catch 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns against them, but it's been somewhat of a problem for the Bucs recently. From Weeks 10-14, they allowed the 11th-most yards and sixth-most touchdowns to tight ends. Add in Pitts' performance in Week 15, and they are third-worst in yards allowed and worst in touchdowns allowed to tight ends.
Telling quote:
Up next: The Buccaneers have a road game against the Carolina Panthers (7-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Carolina Panthers
Last game: Lost 20-17 at New Orleans Saints (4-10)
Offensive standout: WR Jalen Coker
Coker led the Panthers with four catches for 60 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter to put Carolina up 17-7. Among those four catches was a pristine ten-toes-down tightrope catch along the left sideline.
Defensive standout: OLB D.J. Wonnum
There were some disappointing moments for pretty much everyone on Carolina's defense in this loss, but Wonnum at least finished with two sacks and four tackles. He was targeted three times in coverage and allowed two catches for 29 yards.
Needs improvement: Finishing games
Carolina held a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, and they maintained a touchdown lead for much of the fourth quarter. And yet, the Saints still found a way to march down the field late and tie the game up. Carolina couldn't close out the game on offense and gifted the Saints a huge unnecessary roughness penalty to help set up the game-winning field goal. For a team in the playoff race, late-game mistakes like that can't happen.
Telling quote: "We talk about our play style and about playing smart and finish. That did not show up for us today, and that's something that we certainly have to talk about." – Panthers head coach Dave Canales
Up next: The Panthers have a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Atlanta Falcons
Last game: Won 29-28 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
Offensive standout: TE Kyle Pitts
Against the Buccaneers on Thursday night, Kyle Pitts became just the fourth tight end in NFL history to have at least 10 catches, 150 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in the same game. It was peak Pitts.
Defensive standout: S Jessie Bates
Although he didn't have a splash play like James Pearce Jr., Dee Alford or a handful of other Falcons defenders, Bates was consistently reliable across the board against Tampa Bay. He led the team with eight tackles while playing all over the defense.
Needs improvement: Penalties
This hasn't been a problem for the Falcons this season — they entered their Week 15 game with the sixth-fewest penalties in the league — but any time a team has 19 penalties in a single game, it's going to be mentioned as an area for improvement.
Telling quote: "We talked about this, building blocks for what we got to do. What we're talking about is next year. Bijan [Robinson] talked about it with our team. We been talking about it throughout the whole process. We got a lot of right — things that we like, a lot of things that we love — and it's our job to go out there and prove to our fans that we can do it. Only thing we can do right now is finish." – Falcons head coach Raheem Morris
Up next: The Falcons have a road game against the Arizona Cardinals (3-11) on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
New Orleans Saints
Last game: Won 20-17 vs. Carolina Panthers (7-7)
Offensive standout: QB Tyler Shough
A standout for the second week in a row, Shough was excellent in this win against Carolina. He was efficient as a passer, connecting on 24 of his 32 pass attempts for 272 yards and a touchdown. Shough was also involved in the critical late-hit penalty in the final seconds of the game that set up the Saints' go-ahead field goal.
Defensive standout: OLB Chase Young
Young finished tied for the team lead with six tackles, including four solo stops. He was also a pest for the Panthers' pass blockers and finished with four quarterback pressures and a sack.
Needs improvement: Running back production
Saints running backs have produced just 227 yards on the ground since Week 12, which ranks 30th among the league's 32 teams. Shough has been the Saints' leading rusher twice during that four-game span.
Telling quote: "Obviously, we are not going to be able to go to the playoffs this year, but we are building something really special and doing it the right way. Every single guy in that locker room, the way they prepare and compete and stay together through every experience - the last two weeks have been an awesome example of these guys." – Saints head coach Kellen Moore
Up next: The Saints host the New York Jets (3-11) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
