The NFC South hasn't been a powerhouse division for quite some time now. Over the past few years they have become a punching bag for the other NFC divisions.
That was supposed to continue in 2024 and while they haven't been incredible by any means, they haven't been the worst. The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints have been falling deeper into the pits of despair but the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on nice rolls heading into Week 7.
However, the key word is "were" since that all changed in Week 7. All four teams had the whooping of a lifetime, three of which came on their home turf.
Terrible performances were a theme in the NFC South in Week 7
Right now, there are two teams in the NFC South division that you figure would get whooped by any team that can be classified as "quality," the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
The Panthers have been outscored by 134 points through seven weeks while the Saints continue their post-Week-2 freefall. Predictably, they both were blown out by better teams.
For the Buccaneers, it wasn't hard to see they would be outmatched by a strong Ravens team. The real shocker in all of this was the beating the Falcons took from a Seattle team who had lost three straight.
All together, it was an ugly week for the South.
- Falcons: 34-14 loss to SEA
- Buccaneers: 41-31 loss to BAL
- Saints: 33-10 loss to DEN
- Panthers: 40-7 loss to WAS
NFC South was outscored by 86 points (nearly 100) in Week 7
No NFC South team managed to hold their opponent under 33 points while no team scored more than 31 points; that is stunning. In total, the division was outscored 148 to 62.
The Buccaneers should've lost by 24. Baltimore gave them a couple of possessions on an inaccurate backward pass and an onside kick. If that hadn't happened, we would be talking about a 100-point differential this week.
A point differential of that magnitude won't happen in Week 8 since the Falcons and Buccaneers will be battling it out in Tampa on Sunday. The winner of that game will hold sole possession of the division lead.
Meanwhile, the Panthers and Saints will be traveling west to take on the Broncos and Chargers, respectively.