NFC South standings: After two weeks, Atlanta and Carolina stand above the rest

The week two results are in for the NFC South, and the standings aren't what many would have expected.

2015 NFC South Standings

Carolina Panthers: 2-0
Atlanta Falcons: 2-0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1-1
New Orleans Saints: 0-2

The Panthers are essentially a one man show on offense, but Cam Newton has been good enough alongside that terrific Panthers defense that it has hardly mattered. I'm not sure whether Carolina can sustain this for long, but it's clear they can contend for the playoffs at minimum with Newton keying their attack.

The Falcons eked out a second straight close win, and what makes this team legitimately terrifying is that they haven't even come close to putting together a complete game yet. They'll need to do so in order to keep this run going, of course, but an impressive start to the Dan Quinn era nonetheless.

Tampa Bay played much better against New Orleans that Tennessee a week ago, with Jameis Winston making better throws, the defense functioning at a higher level until late, and with this win they're in the picture again. On the other hand, New Orleans looks awful.

And they really do. The Saints are now 0-2, banged up, and playing about as poorly as you can to start a season off. The Cardinals look great, so there's no shame in that loss, but the Buccaneers aren't the same caliber of opponent and New Orleans played poorly.

The upshot is that the Falcons are in good position here, especially with a depleted Dallas team on the docket next. We'll see how things shake out in the weeks ahead, but right now, Carolina looms as the other major player in the division.