Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season finished up with a Monday night feature between the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders, but our attention lies on the state of the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints had their bye in Week 11, with the rest of the division in action on Sunday afternoon. New Orleans will return to work next Sunday when they host the Atlanta Falcons.

The NFC South was looked at coming into the 2025 season as perhaps the worst overall division in the NFL. Through 11 weeks, the division has an overall record of 17-24, a winning percentage of .415. New Orleans brings up the rear of the division with a 2-8 record. However, there’s a path where the Saints could actually claw back into the divisional race. Here’s how the NFC South looks as the Saints prepare to resume action in Week 12 against Atlanta, their most bitter rival.

Week 11: Lost to Buffalo Bills (44-32)

A beat-up Buccaneers team has lost three of their last four and has a date at the 8-2 Los Angeles Rams next. The Buccaneers were living on the edge to start the season, starting the year 4-1 but winning each in the final seconds by a collective nine points. They’ve been dealing with a lengthy list of injuries that have sidelined critical starters Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving, Haason Reddick, Calijah Kancey, Jalen McMillan, Cody Mauch, and Ben Bredeson.

For the Buccaneers to make a playoff run, they’ll need those players back down the stretch. Their current bumpy stretch has tightened up the division, but they do control their own fate for a sixth straight NFC South title. Tampa Bay holds a 2-0 mark in division games with rematches against the Saints and Falcons along with two games against second place Carolina to go.

Week 11 – beat Atlanta Falcons (30-27)

An up and down Panthers squad has a stirring road win over the Packers, have gotten curb-stomped by the Saints at home, and sprinted past the Falcons on the road in the last three weeks alone. Carolina’s defense has shown vast improvement over last season. However, whatever success they have down the stretch seems more dependent on an offense that’s had their struggles.

Bryce Young had a measly 124 passing yards against New Orleans, his seventh straight outing of under 200 yards. Young then exploded for a career-best 448 yards in the victory at Atlanta. With games against the 49ers, Rams, and Buccaneers twice remaining, it’s clear that the Panthers postseason fate lies with the mercurial Young and their passing game.

3. Atlanta Falcons (3-7)

Week 11: Lost to Carolina Panthers (30-27)

A talented team on paper, this seems like yet another year where the Falcons underachieve in a big way. Fourth quarter failures, defensive breakdowns, and offensive blunders continue to write Atlanta’s story. Now, the Falcons could be without quarterback Michael Penix (ACL) for the remainder of the season. Veteran Kirk Cousins will step in when they visit New Orleans this Sunday.

Atlanta has dug themselves a huge hole. They are 0-3 in the division and are in the midst of a five-game losing streak with games against the Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Rams down the stretch. Atlanta takes a woeful 1-5 road record into New Orleans this Sunday to face their most bitter rival.

4. New Orleans Saints (2-8)

Week 11: Bye

New Orleans entered their bye with a 17-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers on the road. The test for the Saints down the stretch will be better defensive consistency, a much more productive offense, and noticeable development from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.

With a 1-1 record against NFC South foes, there’s actually a (very) slim chance that the Saints can climb back into the division race. The combined record of New Orleans remaining opponents is 25-47, a winning percentage of .347. Of those seven games, only the Buccaneers and Panthers have winning records. Atlanta (twice), Miami, the Jets, and Tennessee have a combined 13-38 record. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves either. While there is an opportunity for the Saints to get back into the divisional race, this is also a franchise that hasn’t won back-to-back games since last November and haven’t won three consecutive outings since December of the 2022 season.

New Orleans will mostly be looking for consistent improvement and development across the board. The Saints are hoping a strong finish against mostly bad teams can not only send them into this offseason with confidence, but also ease some of their personnel needs heading into next free agency and draft.