It was the week of the underdog in the NFC South.
The NFC South is officially the weirdest division in football. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night to fall to second place in the division standings, but it didn’t last long. The New Orleans Saints scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to upset the division-leading Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon.
And just like that, the Buccaneers are back on top of the NFC South at 7-7 with three weeks left in the season. The Panthers will host the Bucs in Week 16 with a chance to retake the division lead. The two NFC South rivals will then face off once more in Week 18.
As for the Falcons, they were already out of the division race with a 5-9 record. The same goes for the Saints, who still sit in fourth place at 4-10. Atlanta and New Orleans will face off in the final week of the 2025 NFL season. Check out the updated NFC South standings entering Week 16 below.
NFC South standings entering Week 16Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)Carolina Panthers (7-7)Atlanta Falcons (5-9)New Orleans Saints (4-10)
The Falcons will face off against the Arizona Cardinals on the road in Week 16. Sunday’s game starts at 4:05 p.m. ET. Atlanta will look to get wide receiver Drake London back after missing the last four games.