Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Injuries have become a massive issue for the Buccaneers this season, and they have reared their ugly head once again. On Monday Night Football, Tampa Bay had the biggest test of the season against the Detroit
Lions, and they looked completely outmatched. WR Mike Evans went down with a bad injury early, resulting in the offense never really bouncing back. The Lions made QB Baker Mayfield’s life horrible in this game and stopped Tampa Bay from running the ball. On defense, the usually great Buccaneers run defense got demolished by RB Jahmyr Gibbs. The one good takeaway for the Bucs defense was getting to the QB, but besides that, this was just an overall bad game.
Atlanta Falcons
This is such an interesting team. I am not sure what to really make of it. If you know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Falcons’ offense is representative of that, but I’m not sure it’s because of the obvious reason, which would be QB play. Michael Penix has struggled at times this season, but against the 49ers, he had an okay game. It was nowhere near perfect, but it wasn’t horrible. Instead, Bijan Robinson and the run game were completely shut down, causing the entire offense to slow down. It resulted in the Falcons losing this game, but only by 10, because the pass defense still played well. The other issue was the run defense, and veteran RB Christian McCaffrey absolutely gashed Atlanta. This was a game the Falcons really needed to win, but they couldn’t get it done.
Carolina Panthers
I also don’t know what to make of the Panthers. Before I start talking about the players, Carolina beat the struggling Jets 13-6. Just an ugly game, and I can’t tell if the defensive success of the Panthers was due to the defense itself or how bad the Jets’ offense is. Going to Carolina’s offense, I also don’t know what to make of it. The rushing game was decent, and the passing game was fine to get the job done. The worst thing was that the Panthers’ starting QB, Bryce Young, is now injured with a high ankle sprain. Carolina won this game, but it was not pretty, and injuries might have killed their momentum.
New Orleans Saints
One thing I do know is that the Saints might have had the worst loss of the season. Saying that is still crazy because of the Seahawks game, but I really do think so. QB Spencer Rattler REALLY struggled, Kellen Moore made some odd playcalls, the defense could not stop the run, Blake Grupe missed a kick, the run game was non-existent, RB Kendre Miller and C Erik McCoy were injured, the blocking by non-offensive lineman was abysmal (besides one Devin Neal block), and Pete Werner was nearly played off the field. It was just not a good day overall, and against a team that also struggled. The only good news, and possibly the top thing you want to hear for a rebuilding team, was that the rookies are outplaying the veterans. OT Kelvin Banks looks like a star, Quincy Riley got his first career interception, Jonas Sanker is back to consistency, Danny Stutsman made more plays than Pete Werner (in fewer snaps), and as I said, Devin Neal made the block of the game. The 2025 Saints draft class is looking like a great one, but for the rest of the team, there are more worries after this result.
Current NFC South Standings
- Buccaneers (5-2)
- Panthers (4-3)
- Falcons (3-3)
- Saints (1-6)
