NFC South Week 10 Report

Week 10 was another exciting one for the NFC South. All four teams found their way to victory—three with dominant performances, and one with...well, it was a win. The division continues separate itself, as the Panthers and Saints have both reached 7 wins with the Falcons hanging around at 5-4. Tampa Bay is all but eliminated from contention with a 3-6 record and wholly uninspiring play.

Let’s take a look at the updated standings and how these teams fared in their Week 10 games.

NFC South Standings - Week 10

New Orleans Saints 7-2
Carolina Panthers 7-3
Atlanta Falcons 5-4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-6

The Saints improved to 7-2 after a thorough dismantling of the Buffalo Bills, who look to be in a death spiral after dropping two embarrassing games in a row. Carolina thumped a pretty pathetic Dolphins team on Monday Night Football to improve to 7-3. Atlanta dominated the Cowboys after a slow start to get above .500 and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Bucs snuck past the lowly Jets to end their losing streak and are now 3-6.

Game Recaps

New Orleans Saints 47 - Buffalo Bills 10

The Saints dominated the Bills on Sunday in a game that many had pegged as a potential upset. Buffalo appears to have completely lost their mojo on offense and defense, as they allowed the Saints to pile up 47 points and 298 rushing yards. Drew Brees only had to throw for 184 yards, with all six of the TDs coming via rushing. Buffalo, meanwhile, couldn’t do anything offensively. The Bills had less than 200 yards of total offense and Tyrod Taylor threw for only 56 yards on 18 attempts. New Orleans looks mighty good heading into Week 11, and Buffalo appears to be headed into obscurity.

New York Jets 10 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15

This one was a real stinker by both teams that featured a comeback attempt by the Jets in the final minutes that almost worked. Neither offense was particularly effective, which is pretty damning given the quality of the defenses in this game (they’re both bad). Tampa’s offense without Jameis Winston and Mike Evans is as vanilla as you’d expect, and Ryan Fitzpatrick managed only 187 yards on 34 attempts. The Bucs’ rushing attack is still anemic, with Martin leading the way with 20 attempts for only 51 yards. Tampa Bay managed to end their losing streak, but they’re all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs at this point.

Miami Dolphins 21 - Carolina Panthers 45

You could tell this game was going to end poorly for Miami when Jay Cutler tossed that awful interception just before halftime. It immediately led to a Panthers TD, and the rout was on. Newton threw for 4 TD passes, with Devin Funchess stepping up in Kelvin Benjamin’s absence against the Dolphins’ undermanned secondary. The Panthers managed to get the running game going again in this one, with Jonathan Stewart racking up 110 yards and the team combining for nearly 300 on the day. Meanwhile, the Dolphins offense stunk up the place, and their once-respected defense simply rolled over for the Panthers in the third quarter.

What are your thoughts on the NFC South heading into Week 11? Do the Falcons still have a shot at the division title? Are you more concerned about the Panthers or Saints at this point in the season?