CHARLOTTE — The division standings stayed the same after Week 12, following losses from the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Saints. The latter was in a divisional matchup with the Falcons.

As each team heads down the home stretch, with two trying to make a playoff push and possibly fight for good seeding, each game becomes increasingly more interesting. That means there's special attention being paid to injured quarterbacks, rehabbing receivers, and ascending defenses across the division.

Here are the current division standings:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-5
2. Carolina Panthers 6-6
3. Atlanta Falcons 4-7
4. New Orleans Saints 2-9

With that in mind, let's catch up with the division with this week's updates from around the NFC South.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5, 2-0): Injuries pile up in loss to Rams, as Bucs wait word on Baker

Things went from bad to worse for the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football. The Rams forced Tampa Bay to punt on their opening possession, then jumped out to a quick lead the first time the offense touched the ball. Then, the Rams defense threw a punch of their own the very next drive. Baker Mayfield threw a short pass to Cade Otton, and Otton bobbled the catch. Cobie Durant took advantage, snatching the ball away, out of Otton's arms, and running it back 50 yards for a touchdown.

From there, the rout was on. The Bucs added one touchdown late in the second quarter, but it would be their only score of the night.

The biggest news out of the game, though, is Baker Mayfield's health. He left the game early with a shoulder injury, taking a quick trip to the injury tent before returning to action. But then it was injured again during a Hail Mary attempt as time ticked away in the first half. Teddy Bridgewater finished the game, and Mayfield was seen leaving the field in a sling.

He underwent an MRI exam on Monday afternoon, and NFL Network's Ian Rapport reported the MRI revealed a low-grade AC joint sprain in Mayfield's non-throwing shoulder, and he has a chance to play Sunday versus the Cardinals.

If Mayfield can't go though, the Bucs will stick with Bridgewater. That will mean adjusting the offense for the 12-year veteran, coach Todd Bowles said Monday.

"He's a different quarterback, so schematically, we'll have to do some different things for him to make him feel comfortable within the offense and do a lot of things he likes to do," said Bowles. There are some similar things, but there are also some differences that way to make him more comfortable. He's been here long enough to where if he had to go, we can tweak it the right way for him to be successful."

The Bucs got some more good news on the injury front this week as well. Running back Bucky Irving has practiced as a limited participant the past two weeks. Bowles told reporters on Monday that Irving will practice all week in hopes of having him on the field Sunday.

"He's going to practice all this week, and if he's well by Friday, he'll play on Sunday," said Bowles.

Additionally, Bowles believes three players will be back before the end of the season: receiver Mike Evans, receiver Jalen McMillan, and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey.

"J-Mac, Mike, and Kancey have been working out and training hard, working hard and working their best to get back, and sprint-wise they are doing well," said Bowles. "Other than that, we will have to see, but I think they will all be back before the season is out. I just can't tell you when."

Atlanta Falcons (4-7, 1-3): Falcons get first win since Week 6 behind Kirk Cousins

The Falcons kept Kirk Cousins on their roster this season, and it paid off on Sunday, as he led Atlanta to their first win since Week 6. While quarterback Michael Penix undergoes surgery for his ACL injury (more on that below), Cousins stepped back into the starting role against the Saints and went 16-of-23 for 199 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, as the Falcons beat the Saints 24-10.

The interception was returned for a pick six, the 16th of his career. That ties for third most among active quarterbacks in the league. Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford leads with 30.

His two touchdowns brought his career total to 290, tying Johnny Unitas for the 17th-most in NFL history. Cousins is one shy of trying Warren Moon at No. 16.

"We did a nice job going out, being able to run the football," coach Raheem Morris said of what helped the game plan. "We want to come out early and establish the run and those things you got to keep pounding at, keep going, and keep grinding.

"Even when we noticed some ugly runs early in the game, but eventually, with the guys that we have, we talked about Tyler (Allgeier) and Bijan (Robinson) and that upfront crew that we do have, they break them. We (got) to get that thing open up a little bit, make some plays that allow us to open up an action-pass game, and get Kirk to make a couple of completions. We left one point out there when we got the interception for return. But other than that, very pleased with how the guys played and how that operated."

Cousins had a 49-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney for the final touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was his longest pass (air yards) as a Falcon.

The Falcons also got linebacker Divine Deablo back on the field after spending time on Injured Reserve. Deablo still played with a club on his left hand.

"I think I hugged a few people out there, trying to get my arms around them so they couldn't escape," Deablo said of playing with the hindrance. "It was a little hard to tackle, not having a grip on my left hand. But it's OK. I think it worked out."

Kicker Zane Gonzalez, in his third game with Atlanta, hit two field goals of 50-plus yards in the Superdome.

Penix is slated to have surgery to repair his ACL injury this week. ESPN reported his recovery is expected to take about nine months, but this is the fifth season-ending injury in eight seasons for Penix, and he tore his right ACL twice in college.

Morris acknowledged last week that the recovery time could shape how the Falcons approach the quarterback position in the offseason, and that they may have to plan beyond Penix.

"You do, 100 percent," Morris told reporters last week. "You definitely have to go out and make some different plans when you talk about the offseason, but we'll talk about that and address that when we get there.

New Orleans Saints (2-9, 1-2): Tyler Shough has another good performance, but Saints fall to Falcons; await word on Kamara

Quarterback Tyler Shough, in only his third start, went 30-of-43 for 243 yards. But he threw no touchdowns and one interception as the Saints fell at home to Atlanta. The offense pushed into Falcons territory six times. On those drives, they came away with 3 points. One drive stalled at the 1-yard line and resulted in a turnover on downs. There was also an interception and two missed field goals.

"It's a frustrating one," coach Kellen Moore said of the kicking performance after the game. "I think the biggest and most important thing is we have to go through this whole process to understand how this happened today. He missed a couple, and that's unfortunate because there's been a lot of good. We'll have to evaluate that and just get a better feel for just how that process went down today."

The two missed field goals resulted in a kicker change for the Saints this week.

Grupe was let go on Tuesday, and the Saints held kicker tryouts. They brought in a group of guys, including veteran Justin Tucker. In the end, the club signed Cade York. The former LSU kicker has spent time with the Browns, Commanders, and Bengals. In two accrued seasons in the NFL, York has gone 33 of 45 on field-goal attempts, including 5-of-9 on attempts of 50-plus yards, with a long of 59 yards. He went 51-of-54 on extra point attempts.

York has not kicked for a team yet this season.

The Saints' only touchdown on Sunday was a pick-six. The defense had a shot at a second turnover when Cam Jordan had a strip sack, but the Falcons jumped back on the ball.

"Defense has got to come up with a second turnover," said Jordan, who posted a sack (No. 126 of his career), two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. "I think the games we've won, we've gotten two turnovers quick and easy and gave the offense another chance. I had a sack-strip-fumble, I've got to get that ball."

The Saints could be without running back Alvin Kamara for a period of time, though a timeline remains unknown. The veteran back left Sunday's game with a knee injury after he appeared to have twisted it while being tackled.

"We will have to let that go through its process," Moore said after the game. "Obviously, he wasn't able to return. We will have to get the full evaluation tomorrow, get a feel for that, and see what this outline looks like."

On Monday, Moore told reporters there wasn't much detail yet, and the team would know more after Tuesday.

In Kamara's place, Devin Neal finished the game, accumulating 61 yards on 12 touches (seven rushes and five receptions).

"We'll see if (Kamara's) available this week," Moore said of Neal. "If he's available, awesome; if not, Devin I thought did an awesome job hopping in there and competing."

On Tuesday, the club signed running back Evan Hull from the practice squad to the active roster, and activated tackle Barry Wesley off Injured Reserve.