The Saints keep winning, and they were the only team in the division to do so for the second week in a row. That means the Saints were able to gain a little bit of ground against their division opponents. Here’s how it all played out:
Coming into Week 11, the entire NFC South was back in action. The last place Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) and the second place Carolina Panthers (6-4) were both on the road, against the New York Giants (2-7) and Detroit Lions (3-6) respectively. The third place Atlanta Falcons (4-5) and first place New Orleans Saints (8-1) were both at home, facing two NFC East teams, the Dallas Cowboys (4-5) and the Philadelphia Eagles (4-5) respectively.
You’ll notice a trend here, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a nail-biter to the New York Giants, with the Buccaneers unable to recover an onside kick to try to go on to win the game. The Bucs fell 35-38, dropping to 3-7, with Ryan FitzMagic getting benched for Jameis Winston along the way. The Carolina Panthers also failed to recover an onside kick for a chance to try to win, losing to the Detroit Lions, 20-19. Had the Panthers just decided to kick the extra point instead of going for two with a minute left in the game, maybe it would have been a different outcome, but instead, the Panthers lost their second game in a row, falling to 6-5. The Atlanta Falcons had themselves a nail-biter also, but at least didn’t have to worry about an onside kick as Dallas won on a field goal as time expired, 22-19. The loss dropped the Falcons to 4-6.
The Saints were having none of that. They throat-stomped the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles, 48-7, with the 41-point deficit standing as the worst regular season blow-out loss by a defending Super Bowl Champion in the modern era.
Now into Week 12, the entire NFC South is still back in action.
The first place New Orleans Saints host the third place Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving Day. The second play Carolina Panthers will host Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (5-5), while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host San Francisco 49ers (2-8).
The Saints can’t control what happens with the Bucs and Panthers next week, but the Saints could push Atlanta a little further down in the standings.
And you know there’s no better way they’d like to spend their Thanksgiving than doing just that.
#BeattheFalcons