It was a wild Week 3 for the NFC South. The Atlanta Falcons pulled off a Thursday night stunner by blowing out the Green Bay Packers to start the week, with the Carolina Panthers following up in a loss to the hapless Cleveland Browns on the road. As for the New Orleans Saints? They choked after building a two-score lead on the undefeated Las Vegas Raiders in their home opener. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the basement, but not by much. The NFC South is the only division in pro football where all four teams have losing records.
Either the Saints or Falcons should improve to .500 next week in prime time, but the Panthers will be playing under the bright lights, too. Tampa Bay has a shot at redemption against a Packers team hit hard by injuries.
Someone has to win this division. Here are the current standings, with the Panthers on top of a three-way tiebreaker owing to their division win over the Falcons earlier this season:
1. Carolina Panthers (1-2)
- Point differential: +6
- Turnover differential: +3
- Next week: vs. Detroit Lions (Sunday Night Football)
2. New Orleans Saints (1-2)
- Point differential: -2
- Turnover differential: -4
- Next week: vs. Atlanta Falcons (Monday Night Football)
3. Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
- Point differential: -17
- Turnover differential: -6
- Next week: at New Orleans Saints (Monday Night Football)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3)
- Point differential: -17
- Turnover differential: -5
- Next week: vs. Green Bay Packers
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFC South standings: Saints, Panthers struggle to separate in Week 3
