NFC South Power Rankings After Week 1: Falcons slide after nightmare showing

The Atlanta Falcons went from division favorites to a league-wide source of mockery. Losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home is one thing, but doing so while Kirk Cousins and their much-ballyhooed new offense looked poor is what really twisted the knife.

Justin Fields and new OC Arthur Smith, hardly the second coming of Joe Montana and Bill Walsh, led the Steelers to an 18-10 win over Atlanta despite never scoring a touchdown. Two interceptions from Cousins were the biggest killers, overshadowing a strong day from Bijan Robinson and the defense.

Even in a wide-open division like the NFC South, strong performances from other teams in the division add more fuel to their fire. Will the Falcons slide down the standings after last week?

NFC South Power Rankings: How far did the Falcons fall?

4. Carolina Panthers (0-1)

Do I even need to say what went wrong? This team may be worse than the 2-15 squad from last year, accentuated by the fact Bryce Young appears to have made no progress in his development. The Panthers, who just lost Derrick Brown to a season-ending injury, may be the worst team in the league again. That was painful.

3. Atlanta Falcons (0-1)

While overreacting to Week 1 can often be a foolish decision, the fact that Cousins didn't look like the player he was in Minnesota and could still be recovering from his Achilles injury may put a cap on Atlanta's ceiling this season. The rest of the Falcons played well, but Cousins holds the key.

As the schedule toughens up, it looks like the Falcons won't be able to win games with aerial shootouts. The best way forward is to lean on Bijan Robinson's ground game and play off that with efficient Cousins passes. There's nothing wrong with that, but that philosophy change after paying Cousins $180 million for four years could be tough.

2. New Orleans Saints (1-0)

Derek Carr had one of the best games of his career, as New Orleans mopped the floor with Carolina in the most dominant Week 1 performance of any team. Why are the Saints not in the top spot? Quality of opponent. If they end up beating the Cowboys, Falcons fans may need to reckon with another Saints division title.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)

If the season were to end after Week 1, Baker Mayfield would be the MVP. He tossed four touchdown passes against the Washington Commanders and looks dialed in. Even after losing Dave Canales, Mayfield has shown that he has the talent needed to get Tampa Bay to the postseason.