FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The NFC South was on display in Week 4 with three of the division's members playing in prime time.
In the national spotlight, the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers acquitted themselves well. The Panthers kept the Detroit Lions at arm's length in a high-scoring 32-26 victory that featured quality offensive play. The Falcons took it to their biggest rival right from the jump, racing out to a 7-0 lead on the third play of the game in New Orleans before rolling to a dominant 45-24 win against the Saints.
The victory pushed Atlanta past New Orleans in the division standings and allowed it to keep pace with Carolina. The Buccaneers continue to search for their first win of the season after losing to the Green Bay Packers 17-14 on Sunday.
Throughout the season, this piece will 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 in which they appear in the division standings.
- Carolina Panthers: 2-2 (1-0 vs. division)
- Atlanta Falcons: 2-2 (1-1 vs. division)
- New Orleans Saints: 1-3 (0-1 vs. division)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-4
Carolina Panthers
Last game: Won 32-26 vs. Detroit Lions (2-2)
Offensive standout: WR Tetairoa McMillan
McMillan is one of three players who could make a strong claim for this spot along with quarterback Bryce Young and running back Chuba Hubbard. It was a standout game for the offensive trio, but McMillan was virtually flawless on Sunday night and devastating from the slot. He caught 14 of the 16 passes thrown his way for 192 yards and two touchdowns, including a 32-yard score midway through the second quarter. Perhaps none was bigger than his toe-tap grab on third-and-14 late in the fourth quarter that helped his team ice the game.
For their part, Young was 29 of 41 passing for 329 yards with two touchdown passes, and Hubbard gained 122 yards and scored twice on 20 rushing attempts.
Defensive standout: LB Devin Lloyd
Lloyd has been a nice free-agent pickup for the Panthers so far in 2026. On Sunday night, he was an active run defender who helped limit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs to just 46 yards on the ground and 3.1 yards per carry. The former first-round draft pick finished the game with nine tackles, two run stuffs, including a tackle for loss, and a quarterback pressure.
Telling quote: "All we have is the work that we do, how we go about each day, making sure we have great meetings and take it out there on the field and execute. And that's what this week looked like. And the Lions did a great job battling back. That's what happens with great teams. They've been in these situations before, but our guys were able to execute because of the work that goes into it." — Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
Stat behind the stat — Powered by Microsoft Copilot: 1,269
Bryce Young already has 1,268 passing yards through four games. The more interesting part: After Week 3, Carolina noted that Young became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for at least 280 yards in each of his first three games. He followed that with another 329-yard performance against Detroit. Meanwhile, Young's top target, Tetairoa McMillan, exploded for 192 yards Sunday night. The result is an offense that ranks among the league's most explosive passing attacks despite entering the season with significant questions at receiver.
Atlanta Falcons
Last game: Won 45-24 at New Orleans Saints (1-3)
Offensive standout: RB Bijan Robinson
On his first carry of the game on Monday night, Robinson showed the football world why he is one of the most exciting players to watch and one of the scariest to defend. He sprinted through a wide-open hole on the left side and reached 21.78 miles per hour, according to Next Gen Stats, the fastest speed any ball carrier on offense has reached this season. Robinson finished the game with 145 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries for an average of 7.6 yards per carry.
Special mention goes to his backfield partner, Brian Robinson Jr., who was plenty effective in his own right and finished with 62 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensive standout: CB C.J. Henderson
In his second game replacing the injured A.J. Terrell Jr. in the Falcons' starting lineup, Henderson showed why defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich raved about him during the week leading up to Monday night. Henderson led the Falcons with 10 tackles and held up well in coverage despite drawing 14 targets from Saints quarterback Tyler Shough. Henderson was also responsible for one of the game's pivotal plays, when he stripped the ball from running back Kendre Miller near the end of the first quarter, setting up Atlanta's second touchdown.
Telling quote: "Very pleased with the effort, and I'll start with turnover margin. We knew that's going to be a big deal going into this football game, and C.J. [Henderson] punching the ball out; technique was outstanding; and then turning that into points. That's just a big part of winning games on the road. So, execution was at a high level in a ton of areas." — Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Stat behind the stat — Powered by Microsoft Copilot: 5.9
The Falcons are averaging 5.9 yards per carry over the last two weeks, a remarkable figure considering they've done it on 76 rushing attempts. Atlanta logged 41 carries against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 and another 35 against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, totaling 447 rushing yards during the stretch. What's impressive isn't just the raw production. It's that the efficiency has remained elite despite the workload. Most rushing attacks see their yards-per-carry average decline as defenses adjust and volume increases. Instead, Atlanta has maintained nearly 6 yards every time it hands the ball off, fueled by the complementary styles of Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr.
Bijan Robinson rushed for 194 yards against Green Bay before adding another 145 against New Orleans, while Brian Robinson scored three rushing touchdowns in Week 4. The success also speaks to the entire offensive operation. Sustaining that kind of efficiency over 76 carries requires more than talented backs. It reflects consistent blocking up front, commitment to the run game from the coaching staff and an offense capable of staying ahead of the chains.
New Orleans Saints
Last game: Lost 45-24 vs. Atlanta Falcons (2-2)
Offensive standout: WR Chris Olave
There weren't many positives for the Saints' offense on Monday night. Alvin Kamara's two rushing touchdowns were a bright spot for the team's banged-up backfield, but they came from close range on a night when he finished with just 23 yards. Olave couldn't reach the end zone to pair his 116 yards with a touchdown, but he was the most consistent threat Atlanta's defense faced.
Defensive standout: S Julian Blackmon
Blackmon led his team with 10 tackles, but a safety finishing a game with the most tackles is typically not a great overall sign for a defense. Perhaps the best individual play for the Saints' defense came, once again, from edge rusher Chase Young. It didn't occur while he was chasing the quarterback, however, but rather when he deftly adjusted mid-rush to leap up and knock away Michael Penix Jr.'s pass that looked destined for a wide-open Bijan Robinson and a potential touchdown.
Telling quote: "Really disappointing game for us. Obviously, I thought the Dome was an incredible night, incredible energy. We obviously did a poor job just preparing our football team. We really, in all three phases, did not do enough to win this game. Atlanta came in and played a lot better than us." — Saints head coach Kellen Moore.
Stat behind the stat — Powered by Microsoft Copilot: 159
One week after a fourth-quarter collapse against Las Vegas, New Orleans surrendered 205 rushing yards to Atlanta on Monday night. The concern isn't just the total yardage. It's where the damage is occurring. The Saints allowed multiple runs of 50-plus yards during the stretch and have yielded seven rushing touchdowns in their last two games. Early in the season, New Orleans appeared capable of winning shootouts. The trend developing now is more troubling. The Saints aren't losing because they're unable to score. They're losing because opponents are controlling games on the ground. That's a much harder issue to solve without personnel changes.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last game: Lost 17-14 vs. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
Offensive standout: WR Chris Godwin
This was one of the hardest choices I've had to make for an offensive standout, because there simply was not much working for Tampa Bay offensively in this game. Godwin caught six of his seven targets for 31 yards, and his low yardage total says more about the entire unit than his play, specifically.
Defensive standout: LB Josiah Trotter
Not much has gone right for Tampa Bay so far this season, but the selection of Trotter looks really good right out of the gate. Trotter ranks fourth among rookies with 30 tackles so far this season, and he led the Buccaneers again in that department with nine stops on Sunday, which included two run stuffs.
Telling quote: "We didn't get it done. We've been here a couple weeks now at the end of ball games and we're not finishing. We've got to find a way to finish the game." — Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
Stat behind the stat — Powered by Microsoft Copilot: 4
The Buccaneers are 0-4, and all four losses have come by seven points or fewer. That may be the most deceptive statistic in the division right now. Tampa Bay lost to Minnesota by seven and followed it with another three-point defeat against Green Bay. The margin for error has been razor-thin despite injuries and quarterback instability.
Historically, teams that consistently lose one-score games often experience significant regression toward .500 in those same situations because one-score outcomes tend to be volatile from week to week.
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome during Week 4.
