CHARLOTTE — For the first time this season, the Saints were the only NFC South team to finish the week with a win. The Panthers, Buccaneers, and Falcons all fell. With the Panthers and Bucs losses, the top of the division remains the same, with Carolina a game-and-a-half behind Tampa Bay.

Catch up with the rest of the division with these updates from around the NFC South.

New Orleans Saints (2-8, 1-1): NOLA notches first division win of the season against Panthers

Panthers' fans all know how this game went, a 17-7 loss for Carolina that came on the back of explosive plays from Tyler Shough in his second start. So as not to pour salt in the wound, we won't spend time recapping the entire game, but rather the Saints' response.

First-year head coach Kellen Moore called Sunday the most complete game the Saints have played this year, with all three phases— offense, defense, and special teams—contributing. The Saints' offense put up 388 total yards, the defense held Carolina to 175 total yards, and special teams blocked a field goal (albeit one that the Panthers recovered).

"I just thought it was a really good example of our team playing together," Moore said. "Had a ton of joy as they went through it. I thought the physicality was a positive. We knew that was going to be a physical game with the way those guys play. We knew it was going to be a battle."

The two biggest takeaways for the Saints from the game were: one, Chris Olave can now be the deep threat, now that Rashid Shaheed has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks. Olave finished with five receptions for 104 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown pass. It was Olave's first 100-plus yard game of the season.

Olave's season ended last year at Bank of America Stadium when he suffered a bad concussion.

"As soon as I stepped on the field, I felt it all over again," Olave told reporters after the game Sunday. "It was a tough situation from last year. It ended my season, so just coming back here for the first time and playing here again, I'm glad I had the performance I had. But I couldn't do it without my teammates and my coaches and everybody around me."

The second thing learned is that the man who threw him that touchdown ball—Shough—might have what it takes for the Saints to trust him as their quarterback moving forward. In his second start, Shough finished with 19 of 27 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.

His 62-yard pass to Olave was the second-longest touchdown throw by a Saints rookie quarterback since Archie Manning threw a 63-yarder to WR Danny Abramowicz on October 3, 1971, against the Houston Oilers.

"Just a great feeling," Shough said. "I think my favorite moment was just seeing everybody in the locker room, dapping everybody up, and just kind of the work that everyone has put in to this point. Just a great team win. The defense, special teams, everybody had an impact on the game."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, 2-0): Bucs fall in huge cross-conference matchup

As we get to this part of the season, the rubber meets the road, the cream rises to the top, and a number of other cliches that indicate where teams are and how far they might be able to go into the postseason.

Sunday afternoon's matchup between the Bucs and the New England Patriots was one of those litmus tests that pushed each team to its best. In the end, Drake Maye and the red-hot Pats won, a 28-23 victory, as both clubs put on a show.

The scoring went back and forth all game. With 1:31 left in the fourth quarter and leading 21-16 at the time, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson broke free. Once in the open grass, he slowed as if to slide, allowing New England a chance to run out the clock and ice the game. Instead, he looked back at the sidelines for guidance. He was unable to locate a coach while running full-speed down the field, and players were giving him a mixed bag of answers. He decided to score, putting the Pats up 28-16.

Baker Mayfield and company made it interesting, adding a touchdown with 0:33 remaining after a seven-play, 65-yard drive that lasted only 0:58. The Bucs then attempted an onside kick, but were unable to recover.

Mayfield technically outdueled Maye, going 28-of-43 for 273 yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions. But walking away with the loss is what the quarterback hopes his team remembers more than any stat line.

"Offensively, I am hoping our guys do get pissed off about this," said Mayfield after the game. "This isn't the end of our season, I know that, we still have very important games ahead of us, but games like this, when you don't win them—it should sting, it should really hurt."

With running back Bucky Irving still sidelined due to a shoulder injury, and no timeline yet for his return (that latest update from Todd Bowles on Monday), the Bucs have ridden Rachaad White as the starter, and leaned on third-year back Sean Tucker to spell him. On Sunday, Tucker had the only rushes of 10-plus yards and finished as Tampa's leading rusher with 53 yards.

"I think all three are very different in the way they run the football," Bowles said Monday of his running backs, including Irving when he returns. "(Tucker's) gotten a lot more reps and a lot more plays and a lot more blitz pickup, and we're going to need all of them coming down the stretch. So, we're good where he's at right now, and the hot hand usually gets more reps."

This season, Tucker has 32 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.

Chris Godwin (fibula) remained sidelined for another week, and Bowles had no timetable update for the veteran this week. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter that Godwin's comeback is looking to be more like "late November or December." With Mike Evans recovering from a broken collarbone, the Bucs have turned to their rookie receiver duo, Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson.

They each caught a touchdown on Sunday (and Johnson caught two), making them the first pair of rookie wide receivers to each bring in a touchdown catch in the same game this season, and the first such duo to accomplish this since the Panthers' Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker in Week 8 of the 2024 season.

Egbuka is one of four players since the 1970 merger to record 40-plus receptions and average at least 16.5 yards per reception through their first nine career games, joining Ja'Marr Chase in 2021, Justin Jefferson in 2020, and Mike Evans in 2014.

Atlanta Falcons (3-6, 0-2): Falcons fall in overtime across the pond

The Falcons traveled to Germany for their Week 10 matchup against a Colts team that has seemed unstoppable at times this season. The two clubs got into a minor shootout that went into overtime before Jonathan Taylor took over and gave the Colts the international win.

"We just lost the game. I don't feel great," Falcons wide receiver Drake London told reporters. "So, (we've) just got to get over this hump. Try to bring some wins and try to get that first one, so we start to dominate."

London went off for his fourth game of 100-plus yards this season, finishing with six receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. He was the recipient of most of Michael Penix's targets on the day. The quarterback finished with 12 of 28 through the air for 177 yards and one touchdown. He also had a fumble on one of the three sacks taken on the day.

In the second half of the game, Penix completed just five of 16 pass attempts. Furthermore, over the last four games (all losses), the Falcons have not converted a third down between 6 and 10 yards.

Morris kept his support behind his young quarterback on Monday.

"Mike's gotta play better. He wants to play better. He's always going to be one of those guys who is very hard on himself," Morris said. "But he is a young man. He is a first-year quarterback, in his first year. And we need to play better for him and around him."

The Atlanta defense, which had been one of the best in the league heading into the game, kept after Daniel Jones throughout the game, sacking him 7.0 times. But he was able to get out on scrambles several times on the last drive in regulation, setting up a game-tying field goal that took them to overtime.

And the biggest stat of all, Jonathan Taylor. The top running back in the league finished with 32 rushes for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime. His 83-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the longest rushing play this season (surpassing Bijan Robinson).

"Honestly, it's just too bad his longest run really came on something where a lot of guys stopped playing, myself included," Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss told AtlantaFalcons.com. "That's just unacceptable for us as a defense. Go until you hear the whistle. That's something that's been preached since we were little."

Of note, though, coming out of Berlin, the Falcons seem to have found a kicker. Zane Gonzalez, their third field goal kicker of the season, made all of his PATs and a 43-yard field goal.