Another week, another wasted opportunity for the Panthers to stay competitive in a brutal division race.

Here’s a review of what went down around the NFC South this week.

Saints (8-2) beat Buccaneers (3-7), 34-17

New Orleans rebounded from its surprise loss to Atlanta with a strong showing in Tampa Bay. Drew Brees had a classic line, completing 28 of 35 passes and throwing for three touchdowns and a 122.4 passer rating. Alvin Kamara (125 yards from scrimmage) appears to be back to himself after sitting out a few weeks. Linebacker Demario Davis continues to be a massive addition for their defense – he added four pass breakups to his total on Sunday.

Panthers (5-5) lost to Falcons (3-7), 29-3

Nobody had a worse week in the division than Carolina. The Panthers got manhandled in all three phases against the Falcons, who have now won seven of their last eight meetings. Kyle Allen should take most of the blame for throwing four picks. However, the pass rush was lackluster outside of Gerald McCoy’s efforts. It’s time for Ron Rivera to make serious changes on both sides of the ball.

Falcons (3-7) beat Panthers (5-5), 29-3

For the second straight game, Atlanta’s defense looked completely different than what we saw early in the year. After Grady Jarrett carried them for two months, the rest of their front four has found new life. Adrian Clayborn, Takk McKinley, Allen Bailey and Vic Beasley all got sacks on Allen. The Falcons also tripled their interception total for the year from two to six. It won’t earn them a spot in the playoffs, but if they keep this up it might be enough to save coach Dan Quinn’s job.

Buccaneers (3-7) lost to Saints (8-2), 34-17

Never to be outdone in the interception department, Jameis Winston threw four picks of his own on Sunday. He leads the NFL with 18 this season – six more than any other quarterback. Winston also nearly matched Allen’s completion numbers, hitting 30 of 51 attempts. The Saints defense deserves credit for containing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who caught only half of their 14 combined targets. On defense, first-round pick Devin White (13 combined tackles) is coming into his own, but there’s not much else to like.

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