FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons' 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers has shaken up the division in an unexpected way.

Granted, it's still early in the season, but the Falcons have some catching up to do after falling to third in the NFC South standings. The biggest benefactor of the weekend's events were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who clawed out another close victory and now have a two-game lead.

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.

NFC South standings after Week 3

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0 | 1-0 in division)
2. Carolina Panthers (1-2 | 1-0 in division)
3. Atlanta Falcons (1-2 | 0-2 in division)
4. New Orleans Saints (0-3)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Last game: 29-27 win vs. New York Jets (0-3)

Offensive standout: WR Emeka Egbuka

For the second time this season, the rookie receiver earned standout honors. It was a close call between Egbuka and Baker Mayfield, but I'll go with the player who came into Sunday banged up and still managed to catch six passes for 85 yards.

Defensive standout: LB Yaya Diaby

TruMedia is able to calculate the EPA (Expected Points Added) of a team while a certain player is on the field. In other words, it provides a way to measure a player's impact on team performance in terms of point value. Diaby's 44 snaps resulted in a team EPA of 13.08, highest on the Bucs. He was all over the place and finished with one sack and multiple stops in the backfield.

Needs improvement: Red zone execution

Tampa Bay scored just one touchdown on five trips to the red zone. The Buccaneers should have won by more than two points, but penalties and negative plays set them back when it mattered most and nearly cost them this game.

Telling quote: "It's hard to win in this league, period. Us shooting ourselves in the foot doesn't help it much, but the resiliency they have to come back and win those games. Got to stack them early while you iron out your kinks. We're stacking them early this year." – Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles on starting 3-0.

Up next: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET vs. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

Carolina Panthers

Last game: 30-0 win vs. Atlanta Falcons (1-2)

Offensive standout: RB Chuba Hubbard

The Falcons have been solid against opposing running backs this season, but Hubbard was efficient for Carolina's offense on Sunday and picked up 73 yards on 17 carries, including 40 yards after contact. He was also important in pass protection for Bryce Young.

Defensive standout: CB Chau Smith-Wade

Smith-Wade's pick-six in the third quarter was the true turning point in Sunday's win for the Panthers. Fellow cornerback Jaycee Horn was the better player in coverage, but Smith-Wade made the bigger play.

Needs improvement: Third down offense

Despite the lopsided score, Carolina's offense largely struggled to maintain drives on third down. The Panthers converted just three of their eleven third-down opportunities. They did keep their drives going twice on fourth down, but it's something Carolina will need to figure out.

Telling quote: "When you have a chance to score in every phase, you give yourself a great chance to win. I thought the defense played an unbelievable game. The run game plan, the execution, the communication, all that stuff that we've been really just harping on is where we have to continue to grow." – Panthers head coach Dave Canales

Up next: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET at New England Patriots (1-2)

Atlanta Falcons

Last game: 30-0 loss at Carolina Panthers (1-2)

Offensive standout: LT Jake Matthews

Both Matthews and left guard Matthew Bergeron were excellent in the run game. Bergeron allowed a few pressures in pass protection, though, whereas Matthews was rock-solid on the edge. His well-rounded game on a very forgettable afternoon deserves at least a mention.

Defensive standout: S Xavier Watts

The rookie safety was a downhill demon in the run game and finished with a team-high nine tackles. He made plays in the box and the open field; Watts is developing into a good player quite quickly.

Needs improvement: Scoring

The Falcons currently rank 31^st in scoring offense with an average of 14 points per game.

Telling quote: "You've got to go out there and coach your guys. Got to go out there, put it in the forefront of their minds, got to talk about it, got to be very clear in your messaging. You have to let these guys know that those can't be the things that we do. We have to go out and execute the way that we are capable of executing. We did not do that today." – Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on making sure his team responds the right way.

Up next: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET vs. Washington Commanders

New Orleans Saints

Last game: 44-13 loss at Seattle Seahawks (2-1)

Offensive standout: WR Chris Olave

Nobody on the Saints offense did much on Sunday, but Olave finished as the team's leading receiver with 10 catches on 14 targets for 57 yards.

Defensive standout: LB Demario Davis

Both Davis and fellow-linebacker Pete Werner were active against Seattle, but the former was better in coverage and finished with 11 tackles.

Needs improvement: Punt unit

New Orleans had one punt blocked and Seattle returner Tory Horton took another one back 95 yards for an electrifying touchdown in the first quarter. That helped put the Saints in a 21-0 hole early in the game.

Telling quote: "We did not do enough to start the game to put ourselves in a really good position to be competitive there. And so there's no one is going to feel bad for you. No one is going to come save you or anything. We got to put in a bunch of work, and we gotta get better right now and put ourselves in better position moving forward." – Saints head coach Kellen Moore.

Up next: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET at Buffalo Bills (3-0)