All four NFC South teams technically opened up the 2021 season at home, although the New Orleans Saints had to play their game in Jacksonville due to the damage caused by Hurricane Ida.
We know the Falcons were embarrassed by the Eagles in Week 1 by a score of 32-6, but how did the other three teams fare?
Carolina Panthers vs. New York Jets
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | Final | |
| Jets | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
| Panthers | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
The Panthers got off to a good start, even if their their Week 1 win over the Jets was closer than it should have been. Darnold, facing his former team, went 24 for 35 with 279 passing yards and one touchdown. When passing for over 270 yards, Darnold has posted a career record of 6-2.
Running back Christian McCaffrey also got the hot start he wanted in his return to action with 98 yards on the ground and 89 receiving yards. DJ Moore also had a solid outing, grabbing six catches for 80 yards on the afternoon.
Shaq Thompson led the defense with a dominant performance, racking up 10 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, three pass deflections and an interception.
New Orleans Saints vs. Green Bay Packers
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | Final | |
| Packers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Saints | 3 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
In a game that was supposed to be played in New Orleans, the Saints used this as motivation to outclass the Packers in all facets of the game. Jameis Winston looks poised to win the A.P.’s Comeback Player of the Year award as he went 14 for 20 with 148 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Winston kept a lot of passes down below as he only threw beyond 10 yards on six occasions. However, half of these passes ended up as touchdowns, including a 49-yard bomb to Deonte Harris at the end of the game.
The Saints’ defense was solid all game. They held Aaron Rodgers to an uncharacteristic 36.8 rating. Rodgers averaged 119.2 a season ago.
Tampa Bay Bucs vs. Dallas Cowboys
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | Final | |
| Cowboys | 7 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 29 |
| Buccaneers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
The defending Super Bowl champs put on a show Thursday evening to open the NFL season. In a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possession, the Bucs pulled it off with a late-game field goal as time expired.
Quarterback Tom Brady went 32 for 50 with 379 yards and four touchdowns. He also added two interceptions, neither of which were his fault. One came from a dropped screen pass to Leonard Fournette and the other came on a Hail Mary to end the first half.
On the receiving end, multiple players went off against the Dallas defense. Rob Gronkowski had eight catches for 90 yards, Chris Godwin had nine receptions for 105 yards, and Antonio Brown went for 121 yards on five receptions. All three scored, with Gronk scoring twice.
Lavonte Davis and Devin White also had strong performances. Both had 10 or more tackles with a pass breakup in the process.
NFC South Standings
- (1-0) Saints
- (1-0) Buccaneers
- (1-0) Panthers
- (0-1) Falcons
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