The NFC South After Week 4: Falcons Fall

Coming into Week 4, the entire NFC South was in action. The undefeated Falcons hosted the Buffalo Bills, and the 1-1 Buccaneeers hosted the winless New York Giants. The Carolina Panthers (2-1) and New Orleans Saints (1-2) played on the road, with the Panthers facing the New England Patriots and the Saints facing off against the Miami Dolphins in London.

So what happened in Week 4?

The NFC South had a good week. Well, most of the division.

The Saints put a beating on the Miami Dolphins, shutting them out in London 20-0 to even their record out at 2-2. The Panthers and Buccaneers were able to hold on to win nail-biters - the Panthers won on a last second FG to beat the Patriots 33-30, an the Buccaneers held off the Giants 23-25. The Atlanta Falcons were the only divisional team to lose this week, losing to the Buffalo Bills 23-17. The Falcons might have lost more than just the game, though, with both WRs Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu leaving the game with injury.

Next week, the Saints and Falcons are off with their Bye weeks, which couldn’t come at better times for both teams to try to get healthy. The Panthers travel to Detroit to face the Saints’ Week 6 opponent, the Detroit Lions. It’s the Buccaneers turn next week to face the Patriots, as the Patriots travel to Tampa Bay for Thursday Night Football.

The Saints are in a position to try to gain ground on two divisional teams without playing a snap of football this week.