Canal Street Chronicles
After a tough week for the division, the NFC South was able to bounce back and win two out of its four games.
Tampa Bay finished the week with one of the Monday night games, theirs being against the Houston Texans. Once again, some late-game heroics put the Buccaneers over the top, with the score ending 20-19. This game was very similar to last week’s, where the run defense did really well against the opposition. The pass defense also did well against QB CJ Stroud. On offense, Baker Mayfield looked consistent and stayed away from turnovers, which was an issue last season. RB Bucky Irving was not dominant this game, but the collective run game for the Bucs did great against the Texans’ talented defensive line. Currently undefeated in two games is something to praise, but with how close the games have ended, can the Bucs keep it up?
The other NFC South team that won this week was the Falcons, but in dominant fashion. Their opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, offense struggled the entire game, leading to a 22-6 win by Atlanta. The defensive line for the Falcons gave QB JJ McCarthy a horrible experience, and with it only being the second game of his career, the Vikings’ offense crumbled. Looking at the run game, the Falcons’ defensive line also shut that completely down. Now focusing on the Falcons’ offense, this game was all about running the ball. QB Michael Penix did nothing crazy or bad, and he had an easy night with RBs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, both destroying the Vikings defense.
This was a wild game. With 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Panthers scored their first touchdown of the game, but were still down by 18 points. Some momentum was on their side, and goodness, they took advantage of this. Flash forward to about 2 minutes left in the game, Carolina was only down by 5 points, and later got the ball back with one more chance. They were unable to complete the comeback, but it was an exciting game. QB Bryce Young is such a confusing player because a performance like this could give the Panthers hope, but for most of the game and last week, the play was not good. This is the balance Carolina will have to figure out for the future.
Another game that finished with a close score was the Saints vs the 49ers. Like last week, the Saints had the ball to tie the game, but could not make it happen. Both QB Spencer Rattler and head coach Kellen Moore improved on their performances, which made the offense click against a tough 49ers defense. Unlike their last game against the Arizona Cardinals, the defense was the main reason the Saints could not win. QB Mac Jones and RB Christian McCaffrey picked apart the defense, and with the Saints’ line still playing well, the pass...
