NFC South standings, Week 4: Falcons rise up to first place

The Falcons are in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. It’s nearly 24 hours after they accomplished that, and I’ve loved repeating it to myself over and over again.

It doesn’t mean much, being in first place after three weeks of the season, but it’s significant for a team that needs to show improvement in 2016, and especially significant for a team about to enter a ridiculously difficult three game stretch against the defending Super Bowl champions, the defending NFC champions, and a great Seahawks team. Anything the Falcons can do to position themselves well for that stretch is good, and standing at 2-1 with an offense firing on all cylinders certainly qualifies as anything.

Let’s take a quick look at the standings.

NFC South Standings

Falcons: 2-1

Panthers: 1-2

Buccaneers: 1-2

Saints: 0-3

It’s way too early to bury any team in this division, even the Saints. The Panthers have their best football ahead of them, the Buccaneers may or may not continue to be garbage, and the Falcons have proven themselves to be a strong offense with a defense in need of considerable work. Many things could change in the coming weeks, but you have to think the Falcons can remain in the conversation if they can just pull through the next three weeks with at least one win, and certainly if they can nail down two. I’m not used to feeling this optimistic about the team, and it could all vanish in an instant, but I’m loving it.

Let’s hope the good times keep rolling in Week 4 against the (1-2) Panthers.