So, 4-4 is now good enough to lead the NFC South. At least we've now reached a point in the season where at least one NFC South team is no longer a minus in point differential. That would be the New Orleans Saints, who with two straight wins, have now taken control of this division...for now.
- The New Orleans Saints season will play out over the next four ballgames. Fortunately for the 4-4 Saints, the next three games are all at home as they take on the 49ers, Bengals and Ravens. After that home stretch, the Saints will play at Pittsburgh. If they're going to hold onto this lead in the division the Saints must play well against the stiffest competition they'll face this season.
- The Falcons exit the bye week with national reports of owner Arthur Blank looking to make an A-list hire for the team's next head coach. This is a business decision in my opinion. A new stadium needs an excited fan base to help sell PSL's. But be careful. The Falcons are possibly going to put a coach out of work who is currently 62-42 for his coaching career. That's not easy to do in this league.
- If not for a tie against the Bengals, the Carolina Panthers would have a four game losing streak. As it stands, the three game losing streak feels bad enough with two of those games being at home. The Panthers now get an Eagles team that is missing their starting quarterback. This would seem like an opportunity to get right, but you never know with this questionable defense. QB Cam Newton completed just 35.7% of his passes against the Saints, and has now posted QB ratings of 39.4, 61.0 and 72.6 over the last three ballgames.
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bad. But an offensive bright spot exists with WR Mike Evans. Evans is improving and beginning to assert himself more, especially on downfield passing plays. Evans caught seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns. While his season started off quietly, Evans should see more targets as the season moves on. Evans got 11 targets on Sunday.