The division title goes down to Week 18.
Carolina Panthers
Regular Season record 4-12
The Carolina Panthers season has been virtually over for weeks, but the team is still fighting to end the season off on a high note. With Chubba Hubbard placed on IR, the Panthers were set to struggle against their divisional rival, the Buccaneers, in week 17. Struggle may have been an understatement because Carolina was absolutely dominated by Tampa Bay 48-14. Bryce Young had a great game and made some spectacular throws, but there were just too many issues for Young to lead Carolina to the upset. The rushing game was nonexistent, and the leading Panthers rusher only had 20 yards. A rushing performance like this was not surprising due to Carolina missing both of their starting running backs due to injury, but the Panthers would have hoped for some more production from the backups. The Panthers defense had no answers for the Buccaneers offense, and even when facing a QB who tends to throw interceptions every game, they could not pick off Baker Mayfield. Going into week 18, the Panthers are set to select at pick 6, but depending on how the last week of the season goes, Carolina could rise to the top 3.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Regular Season record 9-7
On the other side of this matchup, this game may have been the most important win of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season. Due to another result from week 17, the Buccaneers are now first place in the division, and they control their playoff destiny. Against the Panthers, Baker Mayfield had an almost perfect day, throwing 5 touchdowns and zero interceptions. All year, the interceptions have been an issue, but if Mayfield was able to clean those mistakes up. If a performance like this is combined with a dominant running game, the Bucs offense can be a powerhouse, and that is precisely what happened against the Panthers. The run defense did not need to do much against the Panthers backups, but keeping the leading rusher to only 20 yards is extremely impressive. The Buccaneers need a win to guarantee the division title, but a Falcons loss will do the same.
Atlanta Falcons
Regular Season record 8-8
Just like with the Bucs, the Atlanta Falcons needed to win in week 17. The game went down to the wire, with rookie QB Michael Penix making a great play in the clutch to tie the game, but the Commanders came out on top in overtime. This was the first challenging game of Penix’s young career, and he was fine in this matchup. There were some issues with consistency, decision-making, and accuracy, but the issues with the rookie QB still looked better than the issues with Kirk Cousins as the starter. Bijan Robinson helped the offense keep some momentum, but the Falcons should have probably relied on the run game a bit more. The Falcons defense had a decent day with one interception and five sacks. The Commanders’ rushing attack was the main issue for the Falcons defense and was a big reason for Washington winning the game. With this loss, the Falcons need to win against the Panthers and need the Bucs to lose against the Saints. The odds are against Atlanta, but anything can happen.
New Orleans Saints
Regular Season record 5-11
The New Orleans Saints had a terrible loss against the Packers in week 16, but the good news was their opponent in week 17 was the three-loss Raiders. This turned out to be terrible news because the three-loss Raiders won in dominant fashion, with the game ending 25-10. The Saints pass defense was terrible and made Aidan O’Connell look great, and the run defense allowed Ameer Abdullah to finish with a career-high number of yards. On offense, Spencer Rattler played really well, but all the momentum on offense was destroyed due to a bunch of drops, Kendre Miller going out with an injury, and some very suspect play calling. I thought last week would be the worst loss of the Saints season, but there was no excuse to lose this game against the Raiders. New Orleans is still set to select at pick 10, and unless some surprising wins happen in week 18, the Saints will stay at that pick.
Week 17 NFC South Standings:
- Buccaneers
- Falcons
- Saints
- Panthers