NFC South Divisional Recap

Oct 30

Buffalo Bills 24, Tampa Bay Buccanneers 18 (Thursday Night Football)

In this game, the Bills got off to a fast start as they took a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, a field goal and a touchdown pass later, the Bucs tied the score up and made it 10-10. Quarterback Josh Allen led Buffalo downfield and threw a TD to tight end Dalton Kincaid to give the Bulls a 17-10 lead at halftime. Aside from the Allen interception, it was a turnover-free game all the way through. The Bills opened the second half with another TD drive that ended with wide receiver Gabe Davis scoring.

After this, there was a series of punts from both teams until the Bucs finally scored near the end of the game. However, it was too late and the Bills came out with the win. The Bucs fell below .500 to 3-4.

After the Sunday games, Tampa fell to third place in the division. Crazy to think that just a week ago they were first in the division. After a 3-1 start, the Bucs have lost their last 3 and seem to be headed in the wrong direction. They have struggled to run the ball and it has hurt the passing offense as well. The offensive line hasn’t created much room to run at all. The Bucs need to figure out their offensive struggles or else the division will continue to slip away from them.

Tennessee Titans 28, Atlanta Falcons 23

This was a very interesting matchup and probably one of the better games we had this week. The Titans got off to a hot start as they took a 14-3 lead in the first half. Rookie QB Will Levis looked like a veteran out there as he threw two touchdowns in the first half of his first career start. WR DeAndre Hopkins was the recipient of both of these touchdowns. The Falcons benched Desmond Ridder after an injury and brought in backup Taylor Heinicke for the second half. This made all the difference in the world as their offense finally got going and made the game interesting again. However, the defense could not contain Levis as he threw two more TDs in the second half and led the Titans to a 28-23 win.

Even after the loss, the Falcons sit at 4-4 and are tied for first in the NFC South with the Saints. However, it’s not all good news. They need to figure out if they are going to keep moving forward with Heinicke as the starter. Although the defense has been good, they’ve given up several big plays to opposing teams this season and it’s something they also need to figure out.

Carolina Panthers 15, Houston Texans 12

This game was a low-scoring matchup between the top two picks of this year’s draft. The first score of the game did not happen until early in the second quarter when QB CJ Stroud led the Texans down the field for a touchdown. The Panthers then scored 12 unanswered points from that point until the end of the third quarter. After Stroud ran it in for a touchdown in the 4th, QB Bryce Young showed flashes of his college self as he led the Panthers down the field for a game-winning field goal from kicker Eddy Piniero.

Despite getting the win this week, the Panthers still sit at the bottom of the division with a 1-6 record. They also do not own their first-round pick for next year. Unless they can get Young some help fast, it will continue to be a long season for the Panthers.

New Orleans Saints 38, Indianapolis Colts 27

Unlike the Panthers game, this matchup was a high-scoring one. The Saints finally are starting to look like the high-powered offense that they were expected to be. Joker (multiple position player) Taysom Hill scored multiple touchdowns, and running back Alvin Kamara also scored multiple touchdowns as the Saints put up 38 points in their win over the Colts. QB Derek Carr had one of his best games of the season as he threw for over 300 yards and had two touchdowns. Speedster WR Rashid Shaheed led the way for the receivers with over 150 yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Paulson Adebo led the way for the defense with his interception.

It has been an up-and-down season for the Saints. They have had dominant performances such as the win over the Colts and Patriots. However, they have also had a few bad losses. This week, everything seemed to come together for the offense and Derek Carr looked like himself again. With them being tied with the Falcons for first place in the NFC South, the division is still very much winnable for the Saints if their offense can keep this up.