The Carolina Panthers have officially won the NFC South and clinched a spot in the playoffs thanks in part to the Atlanta Falcons, who defeated the New Orleans Saints 19-17 on Sunday.
Had the Saints won the matchup, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have won the division.
TOP NEWS
The Falcons forced an early turnover and put together a strong first quarter drive before giving the ball up with an interception. Both teams went three-and-out once again before quarterback Kirk Cousins connected with wide receiver Drake London on a 15-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead.
Falcons kicker Zan Gonzales made a 40-yard field goal to open the second quarter to extend the lead to double digits. The Saints responded with a slow but successful drive capped off by a one-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Tyler Shough.
New Orleans forced an immediate three-and-out from the Falcons, but failed to capitalize on the offensive end and faced a 10-7 deficit at halftime.
The Falcons’ strong defense continued in the third quarter as James Pearce Jr. sacked shough on back-to-back plays to force a punt. Atlanta gained enough field position offensively to set up Gonzales for a 51-yard field goal to extend the lead to six.
The Saints contonued to chip away at Atlanta’s lead, but the Falcons continued to create distance.
Shough led a strong late-game drive down six with less than five minutes to play, but was picked off near the end zone by Falcons cornerback Dee Alford.
Gonzalez’s fourth FG of the day gave the Falcons a nine-point advantage, but the Saints weren’t done just yet.
Ronnie Bell pulled off a spectacular one-handed TD catch with less than 90 seconds to play to cut the lead to two, but the Falcons took care of the ball afterwards to keep their lead.
Cousins finished with 180 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one interception in the win. He completed 18 of his 32 pass attempts.
For New Orleans, Shough had 259 passing yards with one passing touchdown and one interception while completing 23 of 35 attempts.
Bryce Young and the Panthers are now NFC South champions and have secured a playoff bid for the first time since 2017.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
