The Saints now stand alone at the top of the NFC South

Week 9 has been good to the New Orleans Saints. After defeating the Chicago Bears, the team was able to celebrate in the locker room and watch their divisional rivals both lose — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons fell to the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings, respectively, both teams via last minute drives by the opposing quarterback.

The Saints now sit alone at the top of the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers had a late kickoff with the Indianapolis Colts, but they’re so far behind the other teams the result won’t impact the standings. Here’s the state of the division:

1

New Orleans Saints (5-4)

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Points differential: +24

Division record: 1-1

Conference record: 2-2

Upcoming games: Week 10 at Minnesota Vikings, Week 11 on bye

2

Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Points differential: -25

Division record: 2-0

Conference record: 3-3

Upcoming games: Week 10 at Arizona Cardinals, Week 11 on bye

3

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

Points differential: -9

Division record: 1-1

Conference record: 3-3

Upcoming games: Week 10 vs. Tennessee Titans, Week 11 at San Francisco 49ers

4

Carolina Panthers (1-7)

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Points differential: -86

Division record: 0-2

Conference record: 0-5

Upcoming games: Week 10 at Chicago Bears, Week 11 vs. Dallas Cowboys