Maybe the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will get over .500 by the end of the season. They are probably the only team that can save the NFC South from being the fourth division that hasn’t produced a winning team. The Atlanta Falcons entered Thursday night tied for first place in the NFC South. Anyone who watched Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers wouldn’t mistake the Falcons for future division champions. But it’s the 2022 NFC South, and the Falcons will be in the race for at least a few more weeks, if only because no one else has shown they can break away from the pack. The Panthers beat the Falcons 25-15 in a rainy, ugly game Thursday night. Neither offense did much. Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota had a brutal night. Atlanta had a chance to tie the game after the offense showed signs of life and scored, then got the ball back with less than three minutes remaining. Mariota took a bad sack on second down and the Falcons quietly turned it around on downs with another sack on fourth down. The Falcons fall to 4-6, a half game behind the 4-5 Buccaneers. The Panthers are bad, but they were much better than the Falcons on Thursday night.
An ugly contest with a low rating
When fans tuned in Thursday night and saw torrential rain in Charlotte, they had to know what they wanted. Both teams struggled to move the ball. The Panthers found some success on the ground. In the second quarter, the Panthers had a perfectly timed play call against the Falcons’ blitz. The Falcons fell to Panthers quarterback PJ Walker’s left, he threw a reverse pass to Laviska Shenault, and Shenault just had to get past his blockers and down the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. At halftime, the Panthers had 159 yards. Walker had just 38 yards passing. On the other hand, the Falcons had 96 total yards. The second half was almost a repeat. The Panthers could run it a little. D’Onta Foreman had 130 yards on 31 carries. The Falcons couldn’t do much. The story continues Near the end of the first half, the Falcons entered the red zone. They trailed 13-0. It was clear that they would not have many chances to score. With 21 seconds left, the Falcons threw a two-yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson and ran down the clock for a field goal. It really didn’t make much sense. But it’s not like the Falcons offense was going to make a play anyway. The Panthers are bad enough that they’ve already fired their coach this season. The Falcons are theoretically a little better but you wouldn’t know it Thursday night. All the Buccaneers have to do is not stumble all over the place to win the NFC South. But if you’ve seen the Bucs play this season, you know there’s no guarantee they can even pass that low bar. Carolina Panthers wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. runs for a touchdown past Atlanta Falcons linebacker Troy Andersen. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
The Falcons trail the Buccaneers
The Falcons have played hard early this season and have picked up some wins, but they are limited. In general, they act like the forward pass should be outlawed, probably because they don’t trust Mariota. Mariota has mostly been a low-volume, safe passer this season. He made several bad decisions on Thursday night. A crazy interception led to a Panthers field goal in the second quarter. Atlanta’s offense was stuck all night and that led to Mariota pushing even harder. He tried to throw a pass off his backside into a sack and was intercepted, but Mariota was saved from being on highlight reels forever by being ruled out before he threw. His whole night was terrible, and he can’t be blamed for all the rain. The way the Falcons try to hide Mariota makes it obvious that he is not their quarterback of the future and makes it very difficult to win in the present as well. The New Orleans Saints are 3-6 and could still get hot, but that seems unlikely. The Panthers are even less likely to get hot, although they have played better for interim coach Steve Wilks. The NFC South is likely to come down to the Falcons or Buccaneers. About halfway through the season, the Buccaneers have a solid defense and the blind are hoping their offense with all those star names will turn things around. Atlanta’s shot at stealing an unlikely division title dwindles as we see its weaknesses exposed. The winner of the NFC South will host a playoff game. But none of the four teams seem to deserve it.
