CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are 4-3, and 1-0 in the division, putting them second in the NFC South. Carolina was also the only team in the division to win in Week 7. Let's take a look around the rest of the NFC South.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2, 1-0): Fall on Monday night, Mike Evans injured

The Bucs have been riding high through the rest of their opponents. They hit a roadblock on Monday night though, with a Detroit Lions team that swarmed on every side of the ball, felling the Bucs 24-9.

Baker Mayfield finished 28-50, for 228 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception, a stat line that pops but is a decided drop from his production coming into the game. He also took 4.0 sacks.

"I thought Detroit did a really good job of keeping [Mayfield] in the pocket," said coach Todd Bowles. "They kept him in the pocket and they got pressure from within, so that's important. We've got to block it better, we've got to protect him better."

This is the most passes Mayfield thrown this season, with the lowest yards per catch (4.6). Some of that had to do with Emeka Egbuka still seeming somewhat hampered by his hamstring injury that caused him to miss last week, pulling in four receptions on 12 targets for 58 yards. A lot of it had to do with the Lions shutting down the run game; Rachaad White had a mere 38 yards, and after Bucky Irving missed his third straight game with foot and shoulder injuries, the unit finished with just 42 yards on the ground (not counting the negative yardage from the final kneel down).

"It's just doing the little things, attention to detail," said Bowles. "It was a heavyweight fight and if you don't cross your Ts and dot your Is the other team is going to win. Dan [Campbell] did a great job getting his guys ready and it starts with me."

The most significant loss of the night on offense though was when receiver Mike Evans was helped off the field in the second quarter. The veteran was eventually carted off the field with a shoulder injury and a concussion. Todd Bowles told reporters after the game that Evans had a broken clavicle and will be out for most of the season.

"It's a tough blow," said Bowles of the injury. "But we've been holding it down since he's been gone and we've just got to regroup and come back."

On the other side of the ball, the Bucs were gashed through the air, but mainly on the ground. Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown brought in six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown, while running back Jahmyr Gibbs picked up 218 yards from scrimmage, with 136 on the ground, and two touchdowns.

"(Gibbs) got the one big run, he got 78 yards," recapped Bowles. "We were out of our gaps. We've got to coach it better, we definitely have to play it better and we've got to give him credit. He's a talented running back and if you give him a crease he's going to make you pay, and he made us pay."

Atlanta Falcons (3-3, 0-2): Primetime showdown favors the 49ers in running back battle

NBC created a special holiday—National Running Back Day—to celebrate the Sunday Night Football matchup of Bijan Robinson versus Christian McCaffrey. In the end, CMC and the 49ers ran away with it (pun intended) in a 20-10 win over Atlanta.

Robinson is still in the Top 5 of rushing in the entire league with 524 yards on the ground, but San Francisco was able to hold him to his second-lowest output of the season, with 40 yards on 14 rushes (2.9 yards per carry).

"I got a lot of work to do," Robinson said after the loss. "All that 'best player in the NFL,' that stuff is dead. It's always been. I don't listen to stuff like that. For me, I got to be the best player for this team."

Michael Penix finished 21-38 for 241 yards and one touchdown, spreading the ball around with four receivers accumulating 40-plus yards. He suffered a bone bruise during the game, but did finish. Coach Raheem Morris told reporters that Penix will be "day-to-day" and "he's as tough as it gets."

Darnell Mooney led the receiving unit with 68 yards, while tight end Kyle Pitts had a team high seven receptions. But none of it was enough. Even in their first game without All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, the 49ers defense made the plays to stifle what had been a hot Falcons offense in recent weeks.

"Some missed opportunities out there," Morris said. "We have to do a better job coaching. We have to do a better job playing. Ultimately, those things fall on us and we'll get them fixed."

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons defense—a week after sacking Josh Allen four times—could only get to Mac Jones once. The biggest difference though was being unable to stop McCaffrey, who had his best day this season, finishing with 129 yards on 24 carries (5.4 yards per carry) and two touchdowns, as well as seven receptions for 72 yards through the air. Some of that was due to linebacker Divine Deablo leaving in the first half with a forearm injury. He left the stadium in a sling and will miss some time, according to Morris.

"Deablo will be week-to-week," Morris said. "We'll kind of get a feel for what that is. He'll miss some time, obviously."

New Orleans Saints (1-6, 0-0): Turnovers stunt the Saints in loss, two players lost for season

The Saints found themselves the victim of a disjointed performance again in Week 7, falling 26-14 to the Chicago Bears. Spencer Rattler was under pressure from the Bears defense all day, and after only having one turnover in his first six games, the quarterback lost two in the first four drives on Sunday: a fumble on the opening drive, and an interception. Those turnovers led to 10 points for the Bears, helping them build a 20-0 lead that couldn't be overcome.

"The theme of that game...we had our chances," said coach Kellen Moore of the loss. "I thought our guys battled. I thought our guys put [us] in really good position in the middle of the game to come back and get ourself back in it. But then we just couldn't keep it going. Credit to those guys — they played better than us, they coached better than us. We've got to find the formula that works."

Rattler was able to finish 20-32 for 233 yards and two passing touchdowns, both to Chris Olave, who finished with five receptions for 98 yards and the scores. But by games end, Rattler had thrown three interceptions total.

New Orleans couldn't get the run game going to help open things up. The Bears, who entered the game with the second-worst rushing defense in the league, held the Saints attack to 44 total yards on the ground. The leading rusher was Alvin Kamara, with 28 yards on 11 carries.

"They were junking up the front," Rattler said of the rush defense the Saints faced. "We knew that was going to be a heavy part of their (defensive) plan. I think it took us a little to settle in. We played behind the sticks a little too much early to where they could get in their package and get after us a little bit."

Adding insult to injury, the Saints lost two major contributors on offense. Starting center Erik McCoy (biceps) and running back Kendre Miller (ACL) will both miss the rest of the season, the Saints confirmed on Monday. McCoy has been the starting center since 2019.

"It can't just be one person go into that position and say they need to do everything Erik did," Moore challenged. "That whole group needs to raise their level of communication – tackles, guard, center, they all need to communicate at a really high level. There's been some growth in some of those other positions, I think those guys are communicating better and better each week. This is going to be a big opportunity for those guys to step it up even more."

Miller was second in rushing for the Saints, behind Kamara with 47 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown.