FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After a winless first weekend in the NFC South, the division began to space out ever so slightly in Week 2.

The Panthers and Saints took an early 1-game lead over the Falcons and Buccaneers, and they now sit tied atop the standings. Atlanta can close that gap on Thursday night, as it kicks off Week 3 in the NFL against the Green Bay Packers in prime time.

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.

NFC South standings after Week 2

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

Carolina Panthers

Last game: Won 34-3 at Atlanta Falcons (0-2)

Offensive standout: QB Bryce Young

Young continued his high caliber of play against the Falcons on Sunday. The former No. 1 overall pick was 23-of-36 for 287 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. He connected on several deep shots, including a 55-yarder to Xavier Legette late in the second quarter that helped the Panthers score a touchdown just before halftime.

Defensive standout: LB Devin Lloyd

One of the Panthers' big-ticket offseason signings, Lloyd played up to expectations for Carolina. He had nine tackles without a miss, a sack and a pair of interceptions against the Falcons, one of which he returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Through two games this season, Lloyd leads the league with 16 tackles, two interceptions and a pick-six.

Telling quote: "The message to the team was, trust the process, get right back to work; this is how it goes. My challenge now is, how do we continue to get better? How do we take the lessons from today, clean those things up, and then take another step next week." — Panthers head coach Dave Canales.

New Orleans Saints

Last game: Won 24-17 at Baltimore Ravens (1-1)

Offensive standout: QB Tyler Shough

Wide receiver Chris Olave was once again excellent in this game, but Shough was efficient and effective on deep balls against Baltimore's defense. He completed 6 of his 8 passes that went at least 10 yards in the air for 109 yards and a touchdown, per Next Gen Stats. Shough was effective against the Ravens' blitzes as well, and he scored a rushing touchdown in this game.

Defensive standout: OLB Chase Young

Young showed why he was a top pick in the draft against the Ravens. He was extremely effective as a pass rusher and led the Saints with 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback pressures on 23 pass-rush snaps, according to Next Gen Stats.

Telling quote: "For our team to come up here and come away with a victory, I think [I give] credit to our guys and just their resiliency. There are plenty of ups; there are plenty of downs in this game. There is a lot of stuff we have to get better at, but our guys stuck with it." — Saints head coach Kellen Moore.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Last game: Lost 23-19 vs. Cleveland Browns (1-1)

Offensive standout: RB Bucky Irving

This was one of the weirder games of the afternoon, thanks in part to a lengthy rain delay that lasted more than two hours. The delay didn't occur until the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, however. Prior to the delay, Irving was once again the most persistent drumbeat for Tampa Bay's offense. He carried the ball 17 times for 89 yards. Through two games, Irving has 134 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

Defensive standout: S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Although the Browns connected on a couple of deep shots in this game, it's hard to pin any of those on Winfield, who played a typically clean game. In fact, his presence downfield may have disuaded more long passes. He made four tackles without a miss, and he did not allow a single reception in his coverage.

Telling quote: "Too many penalties offensively, too many missed tackles in the second half defensively and, nobody's coming to save us, and we got to fix ourselves and we got to fix it in a hurry." — Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles

Atlanta Falcons

Last game: Lost 34-3 vs. Carolina Panthers (1-1)

Offensive standout: RB Brian Robinson Jr.

Although Bijan Robinson was once against the team's leader in yards from scrimmage, he didn't see much action in the second half after the Falcons fell behind by multiple scores. That allowed his fellow Robinson to take center stage, and he looked good while out there. He showcased toughness and physicality that will serve Atlanta this season, finishing with 67 total yards on 13 touches.

Defensive standout: CB Avieon Terrell

Bryce Young tested Atlanta's rookie second-round pick on Sunday, and he fared well. Terrell saw five targets in his coverage and allowed just two catches for 15 yards. There were a few attempts at deep passes while Terrell was in man coverage in the slot, and he maintained good positioning and did not panic at the point of attack. The stat sheet won't necessarily reflect it, but Terrell was a bright spot in Atlanta's secondary.

Telling quote: "Extremely disappointed in that game and extremely disappointed in how that game started. And then, [we] could not crawl out of that hole. And then the second half got away from us. So very disappointed. As you guys know, giveaways and takeaways are the key to this game, and to turn it over that many times—and, obviously, we didn't take away at all—there's no way to win in the NFL like that. We'll have to learn from it, and then we'll have to get better from these experiences." — Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski.