Well, well, well: the New Orleans Saints are still alive in the NFC South title race, but the same can’t be said of the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. The dirty birds are the first NFC South team to be eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, dropping them to 5-10 on the season. They’re out of the hunt.
And the Carolina Panthers are still alive after upsetting the Detroit Lions, and interim head coach Steve Wilks has them playing surprisingly well. They won’t be a pushover in the Saints’ regular season finale.
Every team but Atlanta is sitting at 6-9 or better, but nobody has a winning record. And that keeps the Saints in play with two more games left on their regular season schedule. We’ll get a better idea of their standing within the division after the Tampa Bay Tom Brady’s square off with the Arizona Fightin’ Trace McSorley’s on Sunday night, but for now the NFC South shapes up like this:
1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
Remaining games: at Arizona Cardinals (4-10) on Sunday, Dec. 25; vs. Carolina Panthers (6-9); at Atlanta Falcons (5-10)
2
Carolina Panthers (6-9)
Remaining games: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8); at New Orleans Saints (6-9)
3
New Orleans Saints (6-9)
Remaining games: at Philadelphia Eagles (13-2); vs. Carolina Panthers (6-9)
4
Atlanta Falcons (5-10)
Remaining games: vs. Arizona Cardinals (4-10); vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8)
