CHARLOTTE — Buckle up, the last quarter of the season in the NFC South is going to be a wild one (as usual). Both the Panthers and the Bucs won on Sunday, keeping the race for the top spot as tight as it can be (the Panthers remain half-game behind, with both Bucs games on deck after the bye week), while the Saints and the Falcons both fell in close ones.

Here are the current division standings:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-5
2. Carolina Panthers 7-6
3. Atlanta Falcons 4-8
4. New Orleans Saints 2-10

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

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5, 2-0): Baker returns as Bucs bounce back against Cardinals

Baker Mayfield returned from his shoulder sprain, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving were back on the field, and the Bucs eked out a win against the Arizona Cardinals to remain in the top seed of the division.

But we would be remiss if we didn't start with the most important part of this game: Tristan Wirfs catching a big-man touchdown.

The offensive lineman moved out as an eligible receiver. He laid his block, then leaked in the end zone, where Mayfield hit him for a 2-yard touchdown.

It was the first offensive touchdown of the day. The second came from Irving, who was back on the field for the first time in seven games. He finished with 17 carries for 61 yards and the touchdown, plus two receptions for 20 yards. Godwin, who returned last week from a fibula injury but was on a pitch count, was able to increase his load against the Cardinals. He finished with three receptions for 78 yards.

"Chris is starting to look like old Chris," said coach Todd Bowles. "He got his feet wet last week, and this week he was rolling; He was in a good groove. Great to see Bucky back out there. He gives us another element as well, and both of them showed it and put it on display."

Mayfield had to leave the Bucs' Sunday Night Football loss to the Rams last week with an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder. The quarterback worked his way back quickly and was 18-of-28 for 194 yards and the touchdown, with no interceptions. Mayfield did take two sacks and a hard hit on a scramble.

"It feels pretty good," said Mayfield of his shoulder. "Hopefully, I continue to improve. I really didn't take any direct hits on it. To me, that's the most important part."

With the Irving, Godwin, and Mike Evans' absences (more on Evans below), the Bucs offense hasn't clicked at the same pace to which they had become accustomed. Mayfield said Sunday was a step in the right direction.

"Today felt like we were very, very close," said Mayfield. "Guys took the message and a lot of things at heart during the week of practice, so we just have to be able to continue to translate it to the game field. But, that's the mentality we're looking for - guys understand that if you handle it and you prepare like that, good things will happen and go from there."

The Cardinals still picked apart the Bucs' defense at times, as Jacoby Brissett put up another 300-plus game. He finished with 29-of-40 for 301 yards and two touchdowns. But one interception and two sacks proved detrimental in the one-score game, and the Bucs defense made crucial stops at opportune times.

"It's finally good to get on the 'W' side," said Bowles. "It's tough to win in this league. It was a gutsy, grind-it-out win, and we came out on the other end."

Added Mayfield, "In my mind, it's playoff mentality from here on out. It's not going to change. We're in control of our destiny, but if we continue that mentality of a playoff push, things should take care of itself.

Bowles has also expressed optimism that receivers Mike Evans (fractured clavicle/concussion) and Jalen McMillan (neck) could return from injury reserve, and told reporters on Monday that he expects both to start ramping up on-field activities soon.

"He's been running," said Bowles of McMillan. "It's just a matter of him putting on a helmet and seeing where he is strength-wise with his neck. He'll start doing more this week, and we'll see exactly what, whether it's individual [position drills] or whether it's some more things this week as well. But he will start moving around."

As for an Evans return, Bowles said, "That's a possibility as well."

Atlanta Falcons (4-8, 1-3): Robinson sets a record, but it's not enough as Falcons fall in New York

The Falcons are technically still in playoff contention, but the path got much more difficult after Sunday. Atlanta traveled up the coast to face New York and dropped a close 27-24 loss to the Jets. A lot of the game came down to special teams.

Jamal Agnew muffed a punt early in the second quarter that set the Jets up on the 2-yard line. It was an easy touchdown for Breece Hall. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Falcons gave up an 83-yard punt return that set up an eventual game-tying field goal for the Jets.

Speaking of field goals, Zane Gonzalez missed a field goal in the third quarter.

Coach Raheem Morris told reporters on Monday, though, that there were no plans for changes with the special teams coaching staff at this time.

"No," Morris said. "Not at this time. We are obviously in the midst of the season. I got a lot of confidence in what Marquice (Williams, their special teams coordinator) does. I got a lot of confidence in the coaching techniques. I got a lot of confidence in the guys to go out there and execute it. We just have not done that."

It was an unfortunate difference maker during a game in which Bijan Robinson shone once again. The running back finished with 193 yards from scrimmage. He now has three games with at least 175 yards from scrimmage this season, the most by any active player. Robinson has had an NFL-best four games with at least 150 yards from scrimmage this season, and has surpassed 100 yards from scrimmage in eight games.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins finished 21-of-33 for 234 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

"Looking at the places that we need to be better on the field, and improving those areas over the next five weeks," Cousins said. "Third down today, again, was not as good as we want it to be. We would love to see in five weeks from now that it's something different."

The Falcons' young rookies, James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker, continue to shine, each with 5.0 sacks. Atlanta is only one of four teams in the past decade to have multiple rookies with at least 5.0 sacks in a single season.

But at 4-8 with only five games to play, the Falcons now turn to pride.

"I think just taking pride in doing a good job," left tackle Jake Matthews said. "You never know what's going to happen. Just got to keep working and being a professional. Get your job done. Definitely frustrating, but expect a lot from ourselves."

New Orleans Saints (2-10, 1-2): Make things interesting in South Florida, but fall short

The Saints put together a dominating second half to make a comeback that almost paid off. In the end, though, the Dolphins made a stop on fourth-and-1 to defeat the Saints 21-17.

"Great game. Obviously, a really good game of back-and-forth football. I loved our guys' resiliency, the way they battled and keep sticking into it," said coach Kellen Moore. "Ultimately, we didn't do enough, didn't get it done at the very end. Loved the way our guys battled, and it was an unfortunate ending, but there's stuff to learn from and grow from during that game, so we'll continue to grow."

The Dolphins jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead, putting New Orleans in a big deficit. But Tyler Shough and Chris Olave connected on the first drive of the second half for a touchdown to cut into the lead. And then, with just over a minute to play, Shough connected with Devaughn Vele for a leaping catch that made the score 19-17.

Then things started to get weird. The Saints tried for a two-point conversion to tie the game. Instead, Shough was intercepted, and the pass was returned for a two-point play, giving the Dolphins a 21-17 lead.

The Saints elected to go for an onside kick, and kicker Charlie Smyth—the Saints' International Pathway Player in his first NFL game after replacing Blake Grupe, who was released this week—nailed the onside for the Saints to recover.

Smyth also easily hit a 56-yarder in the second half to help cut into the Dolphins' lead.

"Whenever you're in that situation, those juices flow," he said. "You just can't replicate that when you're kicking on your own. Whenever you get that, it's all about fueling that into something that's going to be a positive impact on you. I use it to swing harder.

"The boys had a great operation, and I'm just happy to be able to knock it down."

Ultimately, the onside kick did not lead to points, though, when Shough was stopped on fourth-and-1.

Cam Jordan recorded 2.0 sacks, giving him his 30th career multi-sack game. Bryan Breese and Chase Young also recorded a sack, while Kool-Aid McKinstry picked off Tua Tagovailoa.

None of it was enough, though, as the Saints were eliminated from playoff contention.

"Every game has things we can take from it, both good and bad," said Moore. "The way our guys responded, the way our guys battled, I love and appreciate that. It's not easy being down at halftime like that and not having any points on the board and feeling like you're not quite clicking. I thought our guys responded in all three phases. I loved the energy and the juice. We came up short in the end, but there's going to be plenty of things to learn from this."

The knee injury Alvin Kamara suffered in Week 12 kept him sidelined on Sunday.