NFC South Week 5 review: Falcons clean house, Panthers rising

Here’s a review of what happened in the NFC South this week.

The Panthers are on the rise, the Buccaneers stumbled, the Saints are barely holding their heads above water and the Falcons have finally cleaned house.

Here’s a review of what happened in the NFC South this week.

Buccaneers (3-2) lost to Bears (4-1), 20-19

Tom Brady may be the greatest of all time, but it’s clear Nick Foles has his number. After falling behind 10-0, Foles led another comeback win against Brady, who forgot how to count to four at the end of the game.

The Bucs got strong performances from wide receiver Tyler Johnson and cornerback Carlton Davis, though. Next, Tampa gets their toughest test yet when they host the Packers and their league-best offense.

Panthers (3-2) beat Falcons (0-5), 23-16

Carolina got another sharp non-game manager kind of outing from Teddy Bridewater against Atlanta. He didn’t turn the ball over, threw for over 300 yards and posted a season-best 116.2 passer rating. Mike Davis and Robby Anderson continue to impress, as well. We’ll see if they can keep the good times going against a far more formidable Bears defense this week. Their own defense is in trouble, though. Brian Burns, Donte Jackson, Kawann Short and Yetur Gross-Matos all got injured on Sunday.

Saints (3-2) beat Chargers (1-4), 30-27

Much like Chicago, this New Orleans team doesn’t look nearly as good as their record. It took some vintage close-game Charger fails for them to beat LA on Monday night. Drew Brees looks washed and Alvin Kamara is still having to do far too many superhuman things to keep the Saints competitive.

Their defensive line is as potent as ever, though. Cameron Jordan, Sheldon Rankins and Trey Hendrickson combined for three sacks and seven tackles for a loss. The Saints are on a bye this week then they host the Panthers Week 7.

Falcons (0-5) fire Dan Quinn, Thomas Dimitroff

At long last, the Falcons finally decided it was time to rebuild with new leadership at the top. Following Sunday’s loss to Carolina, owner Arthur Blank fired both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff. They also dumped special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica. Raheem Morris has been named their interim head coach. The Falcons have some strong foundational pieces to build around, but obviously they have a long way to go before they’ll be a contender again.

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