How else could the NFC South end? A three-way tie that goes to the Carolina Panthers because of their two wins over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons are to thank for that as their sweep of their rival Saints avenged the Panthers' loss on Saturday.
But focusing on Atlanta's season finale, here are the winners and losers from Week 18.
Winners and losers as Falcons end their season on a high note
Winner: Raheem Morris
Finishing the season on a four-game win streak felt like the only thing that could save his job. For better or worse, he will likely return for his third year.
This four-game win streak hasn't been pretty; they had a penalty-filled win over Tampa, a close game against Arizona, a near late-game collapse against Los Angeles, and a close game against the division's worst, New Orleans.
Point being, you can put it two ways: they found a way to win, or they looked no better than they did the weeks prior. We will see how Arthur Blank looks at it.
Loser: Zac Robinson
If Morris returns, he needs to fire his special teams and offensive coordinators.
Zac Robinson was trending in the right direction heading into Week 18. However, his gameplan against the Saints was horrendous. He ran screen after screen that resulted in an interception and several tackles for loss.
One thing that I noticed was him tasking Charlie Woerner to block Cam Jordan, which (obviously) didn't work. And his solution? Blocking him with Kyle Pitts. Robinson has to go.
Winner: Dee Alford
Dee Alford has had a miraculous turnaround after last year's mess.
Alford has routinely come up clutch for his team. Against Tampa, he undercut a Baker Mayfield pass to propel the Falcons to a comeback. On Sunday, he undercut a slant route, made an incredible interception, and returned it into field goal range.
The former CFL star finished with a team-high nine tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, an interception, and 59 return yards. The Falcons must re-sign him.
Loser: Jake Matthews
That was one of the worst performances we have ever seen from Jake Matthews. From snap one, he was manhandled by Chase Young and it never slowed down.
Really, the entire offensive line played poorly, but watching Young beat Matthews with speed and power was rough.
Throwing in Carl Granderson, the two combined for three sacks, five tackles for loss, 16 tackles, two pass breakups, five quarterback hits, and an interception.
Winner: James Pearce Jr.
Finally, the Falcons have a double-digit sack artist. After James Pearce Jr.'s first sack-less game in a long while last week, the rookie took down Tyler Shough on two straight plays to put him over the double-digit mark.
He is the first Falcon with ten or more sacks since Vic Beasley in 2015. Sounds like the Defensive Rookie of the Year to me!
Loser: Atlanta Falcons
How can a win be a loss? Well, look at the division standings to end the season:
- Panthers: 8-9 (3-3)
- Buccaneers: 8-9 (3-3)
- Falcons: 8-9 (3-3)
- Saints: 6-11 (3-3)
Every team finished with an even record in the division, and the top three teams finished with the same record. That means the Falcons were a half-game away from making the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. How else would you expect things to go?
Winner: Zane Gonzalez
We need to appreciate what Zane Gonzalez has done coming off of the street. In the final game of the season, he went 4-for-4 with field goals and made his only PAT. Without him, they would've lost.
He finishes his season going 19-for-22 on field goals with a long of 56. His only miss under 50 yards was on the Jared Verse block against the Rams. He also went 16-for-17 on PATs.
He may have secured his spot on the 2026 roster.