Tag: NFC South

Sean Payton downplays sweeping NFC South with Broncos

For the first time since Peyton Manning’s retirement, the Broncos swept a division. “We’re just focused on winning,” Sean Payton said.

Sean Payton won seven NFC South division titles during his time with the New Orleans Saints. He’s now coaching the Denver Broncos and while an AFC West title might be out of reach in 2024, the Broncos are on pace to make the NFL playoffs as a Wild Card team this fall.

Denver’s playoff chances are helped by the team’s perfect record against Payton’s old division this season. Following a 38-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, the Broncos are now 4-0 against the NFC South in 2024.

Before the Falcons game, Denver previously beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26-7), New Orleans Saints (33-10) and Carolina Panthers (28-14). Combined, the Broncos outscored NFC South teams 125-37.

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So, does Payton have it out for his old division?

“No,” Payton said after the Falcons game. “We’re just focused on winning. I could say something smart, but I’m not going to right now.”

This marks the first time Denver has swept an entire division since Peyton Manning’s retirement. Before this season, the team’s last division sweep came in 2015 when the Broncos went 4-0 against the NFC North.

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Sean Payton moved to Denver and still owns the NFC South

Sean Payton swept the NFC South, proving nothing’s changed but his address. Unfortunately, his dominance now includes the Saints:

The Atlanta Falcons were painfully reminded of something that has been true for nearly 20 years. Sean Payton has partial ownership in the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe they hoped things changed since Payton was no longer leading the New Orleans Saints.

However, when the Falcons visited the Denver Broncos, Payton showed the new emblem on the hat doesn’t lessen his dominance over the Falcons. Payton improved his record to 22-9 against the Falcons with a dominating 38-6 victory.

Atlanta wasn’t the only team to get this reminder. Payton swept the NFC South this year and showed them why they all felt relieved by his temporary retirement. This included Payton’s first career victory over the Saints.

The games haven’t been too close either. The Carolina Panthers kept it the closest, and they lost by 14 points. At the end of that game, Payton flat out said Carolina isn’t a good team. Maybe that was the jolt Carolina needed because they haven’t lost a game since those comments.

During his 16-year run with New Orleans, Payton had a winning record against every team in the division. As the coach of the Denver Broncos, he’s undefeated against his former division.

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5 takeaways from Broncos’ 38-6 win over Falcons on Sunday

The Denver Broncos took care of business against the Atlanta Falcons with a 38-6 win on Sunday. Here are the key takeaways from the win.

The Denver Broncos (6-5) took care of business against the Atlanta Falcons (6-5) on Sunday afternoon with a convincing 38-6 victory at home. Here are five quick takeaways from the win.

1. Alex Forsyth bounced back: After not holding up in protection on the team’s crucial blocked field goal last week, Broncos lineman Alex Forsyth was moved from the “tight end” position to the “wing” spot for Denver’s kicks against the Falcons. The switch — and Forsyth’s resilience — paid off as kicker Wil Lutz went 6-of-6 on his kicks against Atlanta.

2. Perhaps Audric Estime isn’t the new RB1: After the rookie dominated the backfield touches last week, we assumed Audric Estime might be the Broncos’ new starting running back going forward. Instead, Javonte Williams was back to leading the team in carries (nine) and rushing yards (59) on Sunday. Jaleel McLaughlin (4/19) and Estime (6/16) mixed in. Denver’s staff seems poised to take a “hot hand” approach for the RB rotation.

3. Bo Nix has arrived: What a performance! Nix went 28-of-33 passing (84.8%) despite multiple drops from his receivers. Nix also posted career highs in passing yards (307) and passing touchdowns (four) before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter when the game was decided. Nix has shown incredible improvement from earlier this season and the Broncos appear to have found their new franchise quarterback.

4. Sean Payton swept NFC South: Following the 38-6 win over the Falcons, Denver is now 4-0 against coach Sean Payton’s old division. Earlier this year, the Broncos beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26-7), New Orleans Saints (33-10) and Carolina Panthers (28-14).

5. Broncos hit the over: Eleven games into the 2024 season, Denver has hit the over on their over/under line of 5.5 wins established by oddsmakers before the season. The Broncos now have six victories under their belt with six games remaining this fall. Up next is a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) in Week 12.

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NFC playoff picture for Commanders through Week 11

The Commanders are in an excellent position, but there is plenty of work ahead.

Having gone through 11 weeks of the 2024 season, what is the NFC playoff picture look like for the Commanders?

  • Two division leaders are earning the respect of the rest of the NFC as Detroit (9-1) and Philadelphia (8-2) clearly are playing the best football in the conference.
  • One division is literally up for grabs. The NFC West could easily be won by any of the four teams. The Cardinals (6-4) lead, but the Seahawks, 49ers and Rams are all tied only one game back at 5-5.
  • The NFC South is a two-team race between the Falcons (6-5) and the Bucs (4-6).

So, the NFC division leaders and top current top-four seeds along with wildcard seeds are:

  1. Detroit 9-1  (NFC North)
  2. Philadelphia 8-2  (NFC East)
  3. Arizona 6-4  (NFC West)
  4. Atlanta 6-5  (NFC South)
  5. Minnesota 8-2  (NFC North)
  6. Green Bay 7-3 (NFC North)
  7. Washington (7-4) (NFC East)

With the Commanders having lost two consecutive games, they have fallen down to the last qualifying spot, the number 7 seed. What this means is that in the first round of the playoffs, if the regular season were to conclude with the teams in this order, Washington would travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles.

Consequently, as it stands today, the first round of the NFC playoffs would find these match ups:

(7) Washington at (2) Philadelphia

(6) Green Bay at (3) Arizona

(5) Minnesota at (4) Atlanta

(1) Detroit would have the first-round bye and play at home in the second round against the lowest seeded team to advance to the second round.

Broncos troll Kirk Cousins, NFC South with funny tweets

The Broncos had a perfect reaction on Twitter after beating Kirk Cousins and sweeping the NFC South.

After a convincing 38-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon, the Denver Broncos trolled quarterback Kirk Cousins and the entire NFC South division.

First up: a diamond-plated “W” necklace posted on their official Twitter/X page, a pretty obvious reference to Cousins and his “Kirko Chainz” nickname. Denver’s defense certainly got the best of Cousins on Sunday.

Cousins went 18-of-27 passing for 173 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was also sacked three times for losses of 21 yards and Atlanta’s offense only managed to score two field goals on the day.

Another great tweet from the Broncos’ official page featured a WWE meme video of the team taking care of business against the NFC South this fall. Denver went 4-0 against coach Sean Payton’s old division in 2024.

After sweeping the NFC South, the Broncos will now look to get their second AFC West victory of the season when they host the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 12.

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Where do Falcons stand in NFC South after loss to Broncos?

Where do the Falcons sit in NFC South standings after Sunday’s loss to the Broncos?

The Atlanta Falcons are on a downward trajectory and fighting to keep their lead in the division after losing their second consecutive game in Week 11. The Denver Broncos demolished the Falcons in a 38-6 blowout on Sunday, dropping Atlanta to 6-5 on the season.

Sunday’s loss comes one week after the Falcons were defeated by the New Orleans Saints. Not long ago, it appeared Atlanta was poised to run away with the division, but back-to-back losses have kept the rest of the NFC South alive entering Week 12.

NFC South standings entering Week 12

Pos Team Record Divisional Record Games Back Next Opponent
1 Falcons 6-5 4-1 – Bye
2 Buccaneers 4-6 1-2 2 @ Giants
3 Saints 4-7 2-3 2 Bye
4 Panthers 3-7 1-2 3 vs Chiefs

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to play the New York Giants next week, they will be expected to win and move within one game of Atlanta. However, the Falcons hold the tiebreaker due to sweeping the Buccaneers, giving them another big advantage down the stretch.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Cleveland Browns to improve to 4-7. It was the Saints’ second straight win and puts them half a game behind Tampa Bay in the standings.

When the week concludes, Atlanta’s lead will be two or three games ahead of the next division opponent. This includes the added tiebreaker in effect. These are the benefits of getting the job done early against division opponents.

The Falcons will take on the Los Angeles Chargers after their bye in Week 12.

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Twitter reacts to Broncos’ 38-6 win over Falcons

The Broncos got a big win over the Falcons on Sunday. Here’s how Twitter/X reacted to the game.

The Denver Broncos had their biggest win of the 2024 season, a 38-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, at home on Sunday afternoon.

Here’s a sampling of how Twitter/X reacted to the big win.

Following Sunday’s big win at home, Denver will now go on the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) in Week 12.

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Sean Payton will attempt to sweep NFC South on Sunday

Sean Payton’s Broncos have outscored NFC South opponents 87-31 this fall. They’ll attempt to sweep the division when they host the Falcons.

Sean Payton won seven NFC South division titles and reached three NFC championship games during his time with the New Orleans Saints.

Now coaching the Denver Broncos, Payton has faced some familiar faces this season because the NFL’s schedule rotation has AFC West teams playing NFC South teams in 2024.

So far, the Broncos are 3-0 against Payton’s old division with a 26-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 33-10 win over the Saints and a 28-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers. After winning the previous matchups by combined scores of 87-31, Denver will look to complete an NFC South sweep when the Atlanta Falcons visit this weekend.

Payton was asked during his media availability on Wednesday if he’s extra competitive when facing teams from his old division.

“I don’t think so,” Payton said. “It’s a fair question. There have been so many changes. Atlanta’s new offensively and defensively. Carolina is new. Tampa certainly with Todd [Bowles] but I don’t think — you might know some personnel. The New Orleans thing was different, but I don’t think with the other three. They’re just the next team, and you dive into the scheme, you dive into the players and who does what well. That would be my answer.”

Sunday’s game will be regionally televised on Fox (view the TV map). Playing at home, the Broncos are considered slight favorites in Week 11.

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Where do Falcons stand in the NFC South after loss to Saints?

NFC South Standings: Falcons still in first place following Week 10 loss to New Orleans Saints

The Atlanta Falcons missed an opportunity to further increase their NFC South lead in Week 10, falling to the New Orleans Saints on the road for their first divisional loss of the season.

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons could have gone up by three games in the division had they taken care of business. However, Week 10 saw the two NFC South bottom dwellers get victories.

Not only did the Saints end their seven-game losing streak, but the Carolina Panthers defeated the New York Giants in Germany. All three games were decided by three points.

Updated NFC South standings for Week 11

Pos Team Record Div. Record Games Back Next Game
1 Falcons 6-4 4-1 – @ Broncos
2 Buccaneers 4-6 1-2 2 Bye
3 Panthers 3-7 1-2 3 Bye
4 Saints 3-7 2-3 3 vs Browns

Don’t look now but the Saints and Panthers are knocking on the door of third place. The Falcons can’t let this result get the better of them as the season isn’t over and they could easily allow the Saints and Panthers to play themselves back into contention.

The next time the Falcons will see another NFC South team, it’ll be the season finale against the Panthers. In the interim, they can take care of business and not put themselves in a position where they have to win against Carolina.

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Falcons take control of NFC South with win over Buccaneers

Falcons take control of NFC South after Sunday’s win over the Buccaneers

The Atlanta Falcons have already played four of their six divisional games and have yet to lose a single one. This marks the first time since 2014 that the team has started 4-0 against NFC South rivals.

The Falcons took sole possession of first place after Sunday’s 31-26 win over the Buccaneers. With the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers continuing to spiral, it appears the NFC South will be a two-team race for the rest of the season.

Here are the updated NFC South standings as we head into Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season.

Pos. Team Record Div Record Next Opponent
1 Falcons 5-3 4-0 vs. Cowboys
2 Buccaneers 4-4 1-2 @ Chiefs
3 Saints 2-6 1-2 @ Panthers
4 Panthers 1-7 0-2 vs. Saints

The Falcons still have some work to do before securing the division crown, but they’ve officially secured a winning record in the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints are the last team to go undefeated within the division, doing so in 2020.

The last time the Falcons had four or more wins in the division was 2016 when they finished 5-1. Their next NFC South matchup is a Week 10 battle against the Saints in New Orleans.

Atlanta will close out the season against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.

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