The Carolina Panthers, now at a 4-4 record and 1-0 in the NFC South division, remain second in the standings after Week 8. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the division with a win over the New Orleans Saints, while the Atlanta Falcons suffered a loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The Buccaneers improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in divisional play after defeating New Orleans 23-3. Quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 15 of 24 passes for 152 yards, his lowest output this season. The offense struggled on third downs and failed to score from the one-yard line on four attempts.
“Wins are great. They are very hard to come by in this league,” Mayfield said after the win. “But we have to be better on offense.”
Tampa Bay’s defense was key, with outside linebacker Anthony Nelson scoring on a three-yard interception return and recording two sacks plus a forced fumble. Nelson became the first player since 2007 to have an interception return for a touchdown, two sacks, and a forced fumble in one game.
“You definitely get into that zone, and a lot of it has to do with the guys around you,” said Nelson. “We have a lot of guys going after the ball, getting strips and punching out, and some that were close that ended up being incompletions, so when everybody is doing it, it gets contagious and you can feel it. It gives you confidence.”
Antoine Winfield Jr. added both an interception and a fumble recovery for Tampa Bay’s defense.
For New Orleans (1-7 overall), head coach Kellen Moore made a quarterback change during their divisional loss. After Spencer Rattler threw for 136 yards with an interception and fumble, rookie Tyler Shough entered and finished with 128 yards passing but also threw an interception.
Moore explained: “The QB change had more to do with the whole offense just not playing well and hopefully trying to generate some sort of spark there.
“I love Spence. I love Tyler. I love these guys to death. These are never easy things. We’re just trying to find a formula that works to our advantage.”
Moore added: “I think we just have to evaluate this whole thing for the next 48 hours on offense and find the solutions that give us the best chance to win… This has so much to do with the entire offense. We’re not playing well enough. I have to coach better… We were trying to generate a spark…”
On Wednesday following Week 8, Shough was named starting quarterback for Week 9 against Los Angeles.
The Atlanta Falcons dropped their second straight game in a 34-10 defeat by Miami, leaving them at 3-4 overall (0-2 division). Injuries impacted several starters including quarterback Michael Penix Jr., receiver Drake London, defensive end Zach Harrison, rookie edge rusher Jalon Walker, corner Billy Bowman Jr., safety Jessie Bates III (who left during Sunday’s game), as well as linebacker Divine Deablo who was placed on injured reserve before kickoff.
Head coach Raheem Morris commented Monday: “I got no more information than I had (postgame) other than I know it’s not a serious injury,” referring specifically to Bates’ ankle issue but noting others would be evaluated day-to-day as well.
“And realistically, that’s just about everybody else as well… But nobody cares about injuries really… We just go get ready to go.”
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was limited by Miami’s defense—he rushed nine times for only 25 yards—and lost his first fumble since late in his rookie season when Atlanta played Carolina last year.
“This is my third year, and I don’t want to keep saying ‘We played low on Sunday and high on another Sunday,'” Robinson said postgame. “Consistency has been the biggest thing for us as a team…”
Morris concluded: “I mean they went out and smashed us today… They did a nice job today; we did not.”
