The Carolina Panthers were the only team in the NFC South to secure a victory in Week 9, defeating the Green Bay Packers 16-13. The Packers entered the week as the top team in the conference. While the Buccaneers had a bye, both the Falcons and Saints lost their respective games. Teams across the division also made roster changes following Tuesday’s trade deadline.
The Atlanta Falcons fell to the New England Patriots 24-23, marking their fifth loss of the season. Wide receiver Drake London had a standout performance with three touchdown catches and nine receptions for 118 yards, but emphasized that personal statistics were not important after a defeat. “I don’t care if I had just one catch, no catches or anything like that,” London told reporters. “It’s a loss. I don’t care about any personal stats or any bullshit like that.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris addressed questions about kicker Parker Romo, who missed an extra point late in the game that would have tied it. “Obviously, we’ve got to look at that, and we’ve started that process already,” Morris said. “We’ve worked out a bunch of different people, so we better bring people in and figure out what it’s going to be this week. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make that kick. Like we talked about, those pressure situations aren’t built on practice fields, they’re built in games, and they’re built in that environment.”
Following Romo’s miss, Atlanta waived him on Tuesday and reportedly signed veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez. Gonzalez has previously played for several teams and made a career-long 57-yard field goal while with Carolina in 2021.
Atlanta also signed offensive lineman Andrew Stueber on Tuesday; he spent last preseason with Atlanta before joining Cincinnati’s active roster.
The New Orleans Saints began Sunday’s game with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough making his first career start against the Los Angeles Rams after replacing Spencer Rattler in Week 8. Shough completed 15-of-24 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception during a 34-10 loss.
After the game, New Orleans traded two key players ahead of Tuesday’s deadline: wide receiver Rashid Shaheed was sent to Seattle for fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2026; starting left guard Trevor Penning was traded to Los Angeles Chargers for a future draft pick.
Shaheed played 42 games over three-plus seasons with New Orleans and was named an AP first-team All-Pro punt returner last year.
Penning was drafted by New Orleans in 2022 and has started at multiple positions along the offensive line during his tenure.
New Orleans will travel to Charlotte to play Carolina (5-4) next week for only their second divisional matchup this season.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a quiet week during their bye but opened right tackle Luke Goedeke’s practice window following injury earlier this season. Several key players remain on injured reserve but could return soon; wide receiver Mike Evans is recovering from a collarbone injury sustained in Week 7 and may be available around Week 14 under best-case projections.
Tampa Bay resumes play against New England Patriots (7-2) this weekend.
