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Nfl Playoff Picture What Does Saints Falcons Mean For The Nfc South In

Bonisiwe Shabane
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nfl playoff picture what does saints falcons mean for the nfc south in

The race for the NFC South title is officially going to come down to one game: Saints at Falcons. That's right, the division title will be decided by two teams that can't even win the division. That became a reality on Saturday after the Buccaneers secured a 16-14 win over the Panthers in an NFC South showdown that didn't end up deciding anything. If Carolina won the game, the Panthers would have clinched the division title, but because the Bucs won, the Saints-Falcons game on Sunday will now decide who wins the division. How is that even possible? That's a great question.

Let's answer it. The Falcons pulled off a shocker Monday night when they beat the Rams, 27-24. The win improved Atlanta's record to 7-9 -- and that's where things get interesting. Let's take a quick look at the NFC South standings so we can break down why Atlanta's win made such a huge difference in the division title race. The Saints face the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture.

Game result: The Falcons held off the Saints late to win 19-17. Atlanta finished the season in a tie for first with the Panthers and Bucs. Due to that result, Carolina won the division based on their overall head-to-head record against Atlanta and Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just defeated the Carolina Panthers 16-14 in a battle at the top of the NFC South standings. But any celebrations will need to wait until Sunday. Tampa Bay’s win improved their record to 8-9, while dropping the Panthers to 8-9.

But a division winner will not be crowned until tomorrow, following the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. Because the outcome of that came could lead to the Panthers winning the division, or the Buccaneers winning the division. Week 18 of the NFL season, the final game for most teams before the long offseason, and while many clubs are playing for pride, the New Orleans Saints still have plenty at stake. The Saints enter Sunday’s finale against the Atlanta Falcons riding a four-game winning streak and hoping to carry that momentum into next season. This stage of the season also brings spoiler scenarios, and Sunday’s matchup carries significance in that regard. Tampa Bay defeated the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, setting up a complicated tiebreaker situation involving potential two- and three-way ties for a division crown with an 8–9 record—a scenario the Buccaneers have already navigated...

A Saints win over Atlanta, combined with Saturday’s results, would effectively hand the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the NFC South title. The Buccaneers’ entire 2025 season is riding on this Week 18 matchup with the Carolina Panthers. Here’s what it means for the NFC playoff picture. The Buccaneers’ entire 2025 season was riding on Saturday’s matchup against the Panthers. And then it was riding entirely on the Falcons losing to the Saints on Sunday. Now it’s over, and the Buccaneers have officially been eliminated from winning the NFC South.

The Carolina Panthers take the division crown. The Bucs had lost four in a row, with consecutive losses to the Saints, Falcons, Panthers, and Dolphins, while the Panthers were fresh off a 27-10 whooping by the Seattle Seahawks. The Bucs hosted the matchup, and oddsmakers had them set as standard home favorites in Saturday’s NFC South clash. The Buccaneers won a close one, 16-14, to stay alive in the playoff hunt. It was a win or go home situation, since the Bucs’ losing streak had them leveled up with the third-place, eliminated Atlanta Falcons at 7-9 heading into Week 18. For the Buccaneers to sew up that last division winner playoff spot in the NFC, not only did they need to beat the Panthers, but they needed the Falcons to lose to the Saints.

Atlanta’s head coach Raheem Morris is fighting to keep his job, so the Falcons were playing to win, and pulled it off, just barely, 19-17. Here are the updated NFC South standings and the NFC playoff picture now that the Buccaneers have been eliminated. The Atlanta Falcons have been playing good football over the last month, and while the playoffs may be off the table, their Week 18 game against the New Orleans Saints will have a major... Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, the division will come down to tie-breakers. If the Falcons lose to the Saints on Sunday, the Buccaneers will secure their fifth straight NFC South title. On the flip side, Atlanta can send the Buccaneers home for the season and put the Panthers in the playoffs with a win over New Orleans.

Sunday's season finale has suddenly become must-see TV for anyone interested in the NFC playoff race. Those around the NFL found it comical that the fate of a division now rests in the hands of the two non-playoff teams. Sunday's game between the Falcons and Saints kicks off at 1 p.m. ET inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. A win by the Panthers over the Bucs clinches the NFC South. If the Bucs win, it gets more complicated.

David Jensen / Getty Images When the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lost on Sunday, it appeared the NFC South would be decided in Tampa Bay in a Week 18 winner-take-all matchup. But in this wacky NFL season, it’s not quite that simple and the Atlanta Falcons — long since eliminated from playoff contention — play a starring role. The Panthers (8-8) still control their own path. If they beat the Buccaneers (7-9) on Saturday, they will win the NFC South by being the only team in the division to reach nine wins. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses for over two months and are coming off of a 27-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17.

They beat the Bucs at home 23-20 in Week 16. But if the Bucs beat the Panthers, they will not automatically win the NFC South. The teams would have identical 8-9 records, and split the season series 1-1. They would also both have a 3-3 record in divisional games. The Bucs do win the tiebreaker over the Panthers by virtue of their record in common games, but that’s where the Falcons come in and complicate things. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers in the rain on Saturday afternoon, 16-14.

It was an ugly win, defined by muddy conditions and virtuosically bad refs. But a win is a win. Both teams finish the regular season 8-9, tied both overall and head-to-head. That means the tiebreakers get… funky. Neither team’s season is over. The Panthers needed a win to lock up the No.

4 seed, but Tampa can still get the short end of the proverbial stick. It all comes down to Sunday’s otherwise meaningless showdown between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, two heated division rivals with nothing left to play for. Tampa and Carolina fans will be watching, enrapt, with more on the line than either fanbase of the teams actually participating in the game. Much can still change. Seattle and San Francisco will duke it out for the No. 1 seed on Saturday night, while Chicago and Philadelphia will determine their standing as the No.

2 or No. 3 seeds with their games on Sunday. But all eyes, at this point, are on the NFC South. The mediocrity on display in the NFC South this season, especially when compared to the level of competition in the NFC North and NFC West, is almost impressive. It’s like these teams refuse to separate from the pack. Atlanta can, with a win on Sunday, finish 8-9, too.

Meaning the top three teams in the division may all finish with the same, sub-.500 record. Again, almost impressive. It certainly is mathematically improbable for an entire division to so thoroughly embody the concept of “meh.” For now, Tampa is the nominal No. 4 seed after Saturday’s win, but it doesn’t really matter. The Bucs and Panthers are deadlocked until the football gods determine their fate on Sunday.

Here’s how the situation breaks down: The Saints face the Bucs in Tampa on Sunday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture. Game update (late Sunday afternoon): The Bucs not only clinched a playoff spot , they moved up to third following the Rams’ loss. Tampa will host the Washington Commanders in the wild card round. Game update: The Buccaneers clinched the NFC South with a win over the Saints.

We don’t yet know if they are the three seed or thee four seed, not who they will play in the wild card. The NFL will wrap up the 2024-25 regular season on Sunday and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can punch their playoff ticket when they host the New Orleans Saints. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay won the first game between these two, going on the road to thump New Orleans 51-27 in Week 6. The Bucs are 9-7 and lead the NFC South by one game over the Atlanta Falcons.

If the Bucs win or the Falcons lose to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Tampa Bay wins the division. However, if the Bucs lose and the Falcons win, Atlanta would win the division by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Falcons claimed a 36-30 overtime road win over the Bucs in Week 5 and then won again 31-26 in a Week 8 matchup in Tampa. The final week of the NFL season always seems to get crazy and this year has been no different. The 14th and final playoff spot wasn't clinched until the final seconds on Sunday night when the Ravens kicker Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the game to... With the win, the Steelers clinched the AFC North, and they'll now host the Texans in the wild-card round.

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