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Week 5 NFC South Report

New Orleans Saints (3-1 overall, 0-0 division)

  • Last week: 12-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys
  • This week: 12:00 pm/cst on Sunday vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2)
  • Notes: A dominant performance from the defense made sure that four Wil Lutz field goals were enough to secure the win. Sheldon Rankins returned from tearing his achilles in January and played 66% of the team’s defensive snaps. Players to watch this week for injury statuses will be the progression of Tre’Quan Smith (missed the last two games with an ankle sprain) and Trey Hendrickson (left Sunday night’s game with a neck injury and did not return).

Atlanta Falcons (1-3 overall, 0-0 division)

  • Last week: 24-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans
  • This week: 12:00 pm/cst on Sunday at Houston Texans (2-2)
  • Notes: The Falcons traded linebacker and former LSU Tiger Duke Riley and a 2020 6th round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for safety Johnathan Cyprien and a 2020 7th round pick. The move comes after losing Keanu Neal to a season ending torn achilles last week.

Carolina Panthers (2-2 overall, 0-1 division)

  • Last week: 16-10 win over the Houston Texans
  • This week: 12:00 pm/cst on Sunday vs Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
  • Notes: Kyle Allen is now 2-0 filling in for Cam Newton and is expected to start, once again, in Week 5. There are still no specifics on exactly how long Newton is expected to be out, but it doesn’t appear as if he will be back for a few weeks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-2, 1-0 division)

  • Last week: 55-40 win over the Los Angeles Rams
  • This week: 12:00 pm/cst on Sunday at New Orleans Saints (3-1)
  • Notes: The Buccaneers set a franchise record with their 55 points scored in Los Angeles on Sunday. Their previous record was 48 points, when they came to New Orleans and surprised everyone with a Week 1 upset in 2018. They are coming back to the Superdome this Sunday for the first time since that game with 1st place in the NFC South on the line.

NFC South Standings

  1. New Orleans (3-1)
  2. Tampa Bay (2-2)
  3. Carolina (2-2)
  4. Atlanta (1-3)

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @DCBilliotJr for daily Saints talk and live tweeting of each and every game!