The Carolina Panthers stand at 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the NFC South, currently holding second place in the division after being the only NFC South team to secure a victory in Week 7.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading the division at 5-2, faced a setback on Monday night against the Detroit Lions, losing 24-9. Quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 28 of 50 passes for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception but was sacked four times. Head coach Todd Bowles commented, “I thought Detroit did a really good job of keeping [Mayfield] in the pocket. They kept him in the pocket and they got pressure from within, so that’s important. We’ve got to block it better, we’ve got to protect him better.”
Wide receiver Mike Evans suffered a broken clavicle and a concussion during the game and will be sidelined for most of the season. Bowles said, “It’s a tough blow. But we’ve been holding it down since he’s been gone and we’ve just got to regroup and come back.” The Buccaneers’ offense struggled on the ground, managing only 42 rushing yards.
On defense, Tampa Bay was challenged by Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. St. Brown recorded six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, while Gibbs amassed 218 total yards and two touchdowns. Bowles noted, “(Gibbs) got the one big run, he got 78 yards. We were out of our gaps. We’ve got to coach it better, we definitely have to play it better and we’ve got to give him credit. He’s a talented running back and if you give him a crease he’s going to make you pay, and he made us pay.”
The Atlanta Falcons, now 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the division, lost to the San Francisco 49ers in a Sunday Night Football matchup that highlighted running backs Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey. Robinson was held to 40 rushing yards on 14 carries. He said after the game, “I got a lot of work to do. All that ‘best player in the NFL,’ that stuff is dead. It’s always been. I don’t listen to stuff like that. For me, I got to be the best player for this team.”
Quarterback Michael Penix threw for 241 yards and one touchdown but sustained a bone bruise; head coach Raheem Morris stated Penix is “day-to-day” and “he’s as tough as it gets.” The Falcons’ defense could not contain McCaffrey, who rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns and added 72 receiving yards. Linebacker Divine Deablo left the game with a forearm injury and is expected to miss time. Morris said, “Deablo will be week-to-week. We’ll kind of get a feel for what that is. He’ll miss some time, obviously.” Morris also reflected on the team’s performance: “Some missed opportunities out there. We have to do a better job coaching. We have to do a better job playing. Ultimately, those things fall on us and we’ll get them fixed.”
The New Orleans Saints fell to 1-6 after a 26-14 loss to the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Spencer Rattler committed three turnovers, two in the first four drives, which led to an early deficit. Head coach Kellen Moore commented, “The theme of that game…we had our chances. I thought our guys battled. I thought our guys put [us] in really good position in the middle of the game to come back and get ourself back in it. But then we just couldn’t keep it going. Credit to those guys — they played better than us, they coached better than us. We’ve got to find the formula that works.”
Rattler finished with 233 passing yards and two touchdowns to Chris Olave, who had five receptions for 98 yards. The Saints’ running game was limited to 44 yards, with Alvin Kamara leading at 28 yards on 11 carries. Rattler explained, “They were junking up the front. We knew that was going to be a heavy part of their (defensive) plan. I think it took us a little to settle in. We played behind the sticks a little too much early to where they could get in their package and get after us a little bit.”
Injuries further impacted New Orleans as starting center Erik McCoy (biceps) and running back Kendre Miller (ACL) were both ruled out for the season. Moore addressed the offensive line’s challenge: “It can’t just be one person go into that position and say they need to do everything Erik did. That whole group needs to raise their level of communication – tackles, guard, center, they all need to communicate at a really high level. There’s been some growth in some of those other positions, I think those guys are communicating better and better each week. This is going to be a big opportunity for those guys to step it up even more.” Miller had been second in rushing for New Orleans this season.
