NFC South Week 11 review: Saints continue rolling with 7th straight win

This week, the man extended his lead in the division despite starting an overblown gimmick at quarterback.

To be the man, you’ve gotta beat the man. So says Ric Flair, who’s claimed to be a fan of at least two NFC South teams over the years.

Since finding a trove of riches in the 2017 NFL draft, the man has been residing in New Orleans. This week, Sean Payton and the Saints extended their lead in the division despite starting an overblown gimmick at quarterback, illustrating once again just how far ahead they are compared to their competition. Here is a review of what happened around the NFC South during an eventful Week 11.

Saints (8-2) beat Falcons (3-7), 24-9

Taysom Hill is going to get most of the headlines. New Orleans’ defense is deserving of more attention, though. This Saints unit has erased their early coverage foibles and is now firing on all cylinders. In Sunday’s victory, they held Todd Gurley to just 3.3 yards per carry and Julio Jones to two catches and 39 yards. They also sacked Matt Ryan eight times and picked him off twice.

Aside from Drew Brees’ ribcage, it’s difficult to see any weakness on this team. New Orleans has won seven games in a row and will go for eight against the Broncos.

Buccaneers (7-4) lost to Rams (7-3), 27-24

On Monday night Tom Brady and the Bucs were stymied by what’s become a brutally clever modern Rams defense. Jalen Ramsey was able to contain Mike Evans when they were matched up one-on-one, Ronald Jones II only managed 24 yards on 10 carries and Tom Brady (two interceptions) was unable to throw deep all game.

On the other side of the ball, Lavonte David put in another stellar effort, but their secondary could not contain Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, who combined for 23 catches, 275 yards and a touchdown. While Tampa is still a serious contender in the NFC, there seems to be a pattern of falling short in prime time games against other heavyweights. It won’t get any easier this week either, as the Chiefs are coming to town.

Panthers (4-7) beat Lions (4-6), 20-0

This victory for Carolina followed another familiar narrative. The Panthers have mostly beaten the teams that they’re supposed to. However, in all four of their wins their opponents played particularly sloppy. The Chargers, Cardinals, Falcons and Lions all sustained cringeworthy, self-inflicted wounds that contributed a lot to their losses. If Carolina can’t come out on top against a mediocre-at-best Minnesota team (no matter who starts at QB) it will be a disappointment.

Falcons have a long way to go

Raheem Morris has done a great job turning this Atlanta team around since he took over for Dan Quinn. They’ve certainly been playing with far more energy and competitiveness these last few weeks. However, this latest loss to New Orleans underscored just how deep and wide the chasm is between these teams. The Saints have won five of six in this rivalry and their roster is vastly superior at practically every position except wide receiver. Atlanta (and everyone else in the division) has a whole lot of work to do to catch up. The Raiders visit the Falcons next.

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