CHARLOTTE— Nothing ever comes easy in life or the NFC South, where the team in the bottom of the division has the best division record.

At the beginning of the Week 15 slate, the Panthers and the Buccaneers were tied for the top of the division, while the Falcons and Saints had already been eliminated.

Now at the conclusion of Week 15, the Panthers and the Bucs are still tied at the top, with everything coming down to the two games in the final three weeks. That's the simple summarization of how the weekend ended. The longer explanation is that the Falcons and Saints, despite being out of playoff contention, made sure to dictate much of what will happen in that regard when it comes to the NFC South.

It began on Thursday when the Bucs squandered a fourth-quarter lead and the Falcons won a thriller with a walk-off field goal. That result put the Panthers firmly in the top spot of the division, with a chance to wrap up a postseason spot by Week 16. All they had to do was beat both the Saints on Sunday, and Tampa Bay next week.

But the Saints pulled off a go-ahead field goal of their own with two-seconds remaining to sweep the season series against Carolina and ensure the final three weeks would be a race to the finish in the division.

Here are the current standings:

1t. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-7

t1. Carolina Panthers 7-7

3. Atlanta Falcons 5-9

4. New Orleans Saints 4-10

Atlanta Falcons (5-9, 2-3): Falcons make a late surge in the fourth quarter

At some point during the fourth quarter of Thursday night's game, it started to seem as if the football gods were determined for Atlanta to win this divisional matchup. Multiple times, the game slipped out of both teams' hands with turnovers of both the thrown and fumbled kind, unsuccessful and successful two-point conversions, long drives, and quick strikes. But when the dust settled, it was the Falcons who had the game break their way more, resulting in a 29-28 win that threw the entire division into a blender.

"These guys, they're fighters, man," coach Raheem Morris said after the win. "Went out there and was able to execute. Got down early. Watched the guys go out there and fight, overcome a couple dropped passes and overcome a couple things, overcome a couple touchdowns."

There was a lot to overcome. At one point, the Falcons were down by 14 points in the fourth. All total, they finished with 19 penalties for 125 yards. There was a fumble by Darnell Mooney that was surrounded by seven Buccaneers players and only one Falcons player.

But Atlanta recovered that fumble thanks to offensive lineman Ryan Neuzil.

"I jogged off the field. I said, 'There is no way. There is no way we recovered that ball.' I just jogged off. Somebody was saying, "No, we might have it," I'm like, 'How?'" admitted quarterback Kirk Cousins.

"Our offensive line coach preaches, they call it, covering. So, when the ball is thrown, and the rush stops, you are to run forward. You don't know where or why, but you are to run forward. They coach it. They do it so much. We're just walking through plays, and after every play, they walk forward to train the muscle memory.

"I'm so happy for Neuz making that play. It's classic O-linemen: just do their job, not make it about them, and be in the right spot and make the play because they're doing what they're coached to do."

The play was indicative of how the game was swinging the Falcons' way late.

After the Bucs went up 28-14 thanks to a successful touchdown and two-point conversion, the Falcons seemed out of luck. Then, with just under 10 minutes left, Bijan Robinson ran in a 6-yard touchdown. The Falcons didn't convert the two-point play, but with 3:34 left, Dee Alford intercepted Baker Mayfield. The Falcons capped the drive when Kirk Cousins connected with Kyle Pitts for their duo's third touchdown of the day.

"It was the plan all along," Morris said of Pitts' contribution with Drake London sidelined. "Kyle is our guy. You're down a couple of your guys, like Drake, some of those guys, and Kyle has really filled in that role and become the lead dog guy.

"He has done an awesome job, and we talked about some of the plays he didn't make, even when he had some of these good games over the last couple weeks, but he made those plays tonight. He showed up in a major way. That was a big-time play by him. Stuff that we expect."

One of Pitts'—who is in a contract year—touchdowns was good because he got one foot down, then his rear. But again, thus was the kind of night for the Falcons.

With 1:20 remaining, Atlanta was facing a third-and-28 from their own territory. Cousins found Pitts for a 14-yard pickup, setting up fourth-and-14. From there, the quarterback found David Sills V, who had dropped a wide-open touchdown earlier in the game, for a 21-yard catch that put Atlanta in field goal range.

"When we were down 14, it was really cool to see the sideline," Bijan Robinson explained. "There was energy that injected in all of us."

Robinson had 175 yards from scrimmage against the Bucs, extending his streak of 100-plus scrimmage yard games against divisional opponents to nine games. Pitts pulled in 11-of-12 targets for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Rookie pass-rusher James Pearce Jr. also continued his streak of impressive performances, registering 2.0 sacks, bringing his season total to 8.0, which leads the Falcons.

"It's a stepping stone to where we want to go," Morris said. "We talked about this, about building blocks for what we got to do. What we're talking about is next year…We got a lot of right things that we like, a lot of things that we love, and it's our job to go out there and prove to our fans that we can do it. Only thing we can do right now is finish."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7, 2-2): A fourth-quarter collapse changes Bucs' postseason hopes

The Buccaneers are still in playoff contention. The Buccaneers still have seven wins, and they are still the collective favorites to win the division. But the Bucs have also lost five of their last six games, typically in painful fashion.

That streak extended Thursday night, when Tampa Bay fumbled away a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter against the, at the time, four-win Falcons.

"It's inexcusable. You don't make excuses," said coach Todd Bowles. "You got to (expletive) care enough where the (expletive) hurts. You got to (expletive) care enough where the (expletive) hurts. It's got to (expletive) mean something to you. It's more than a job; it's your (expletive) livelihood.

"How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can't sugarcoat that (expletive). It was (expletive) inexcusable. There's no (expletive) answer for it. No excuse for it. That's what you tell 'em in the locker room. Look in the (expletive) mirror."

Quarterback Baker Mayfield took most of the blame after the loss, pinning the game on two throws during which he felt things shifted. The first was the interception he threw in the fourth quarter, picked off by Dee Alford. It gave the Falcons possession again with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining. The Falcons responded with a touchdown.

On the ensuing possession, the Bucs were knocking on the two-minute warning with a chance to run out the clock. Then on second-and-14, Mayfield overthrew Emeka Egbuka. On third down, he took a sack. The Bucs had to punt, and the Falcons took the ball down for the game-winning field goal.

"It falls on my shoulders," said Mayfield. "Can't turn the ball over, can't have that interception. And then just got to hit Mek in stride on that third down. Listen, you can say what you want about being up two scores and the defense right there, but we have to be better on offense, and it comes down to how I play. This one's going to haunt me. This falls on my shoulders."

It was an approach that Bowles appreciated, telling reporters on Friday that Mayfield acted as a leader, taking on the blame and responsibility, and it's how the entire locker room needed to react.

"I think it's an eye-opener for a lot of guys and a lot of coaches on this team," said Bowles. "So, if we can come back Monday and look in the mirror and everybody can work on the little things, I think that'll carry us the rest of the way. What he said was very honest and very true."

Thursday was the first time Mayfield had his full contingent of weapons all season, with Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin all finally healthy at the same time. Evans likely will break his streak of 1,000-plus yard seasons, but wanted to return for this playoff push. He finished with six receptions on 12 targets for 132 yards.

"Played winning football," said Bowles of Evans. "He gave his heart. He gave his all."

Evans left the game at one point while favoring his arm, but he returned. The Buccaneers placed starting corner Zyon McCollum on Injured Reserve this week for a hip injury sustained during the Falcons game.

Now, the Bucs come to Charlotte, tied again with the Panthers at the top of the division.

"We've got to get up and go to work tomorrow, no matter how bad today looks," said Bowles. "You've got to put it behind you, and we've got to win the last three games. We know that."

New Orleans Saints (4-10, 3-2): Saints sweep series against Panthers with explosive fourth quarter

For most of Sunday's game, it seemed as if the Panthers were in control, but were biding their time to pull away. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Saints took advantage of the close game, scoring a touchdown and a field goal to get the 20-17 win.

"Awesome game. Awesome game of resiliency, the group kind of sticking together," said coach Kellen Moore. "I think it's a good example of not every game is going to be perfect. There's going to be highs and lows. For our guys to stick together, that's a beautiful formula for a comeback win like that. All three phases contributed."

Tyler Shough continued to raise the Saints' offense around him, going 24-of-32 for 272 yards and one touchdown, while also adding 32 yards on eight rushes. He finished as the Saints' leading rusher. Two rushes resulted in flags on Panthers' defenders who were penalized for late hits on the sliding quarterback. The last one, late in the fourth quarter, moved the Saints into field goal range, setting Charlie Smyth up for the 47-yard game-winner.

"This team has so much confidence in him," Moore said of the Irish kicker. "I think the juice and energy that provides –the guys have a lot of confidence when he goes out there. The guys are fired up for him. For him to make that kick and execute at that high of a level, the celebration in the locker room, you'll see it with Charlie and the team. This team loves that guy, and it was awesome."

After the second tackle on Shough, the quarterback went to the blue tent, and Spencer Rattler ran the last play before the field goal. Shough was able to conduct postgame interviews and told reporters, "Yeah, I was fine, but we had to do it." And, yeah, just got to be smart, get down earlier. But it ended up working out."

The rookie quarterback threw his sixth touchdown on Sunday, tying Archie Manning's rookie mark of six, set in 1971. In the final minutes, Shough orchestrated two scoring drives that, combined, took three minutes and three seconds, moving downfield in seven and eight plays, respectively.

"Just a phenomenal performance. When your best is needed, he showed up," Moore said of his quarterback. "Obviously, he made some big-time plays. From a pass-game perspective on the last couple of drives, I thought our receivers were dialed (in). (Devaughn) Vele goes down, and Kevin (Austin Jr.) pops in there and makes some plays. I thought it was big time."

On the penultimate drive, Shough connected with Chris Olave four times. The receiver had only brought in one catch before that drive. Three of the throws were explosives, and the fourth was the touchdown. He finished as the Saints' leading receiver with six receptions for 85 yards and the score.

"It was tough. I'm not gonna let my emotions, or anything, get in the way of the flow of the game, that's just how the game was going," Olave said of his low production until the touchdown drive. "We were still in the game 17-10, and it was a tough drive: Second down in the red zone. Had a bounce back, made some plays, and somebody had to make a play. I'm glad he kept coming to me. I'm glad we put a drive together to tie the game up and getting the ball back and getting a field goal was huge, so it was a great thing for us."

The Saints' first touchdown came in the second quarter when New Orleans kept the ball for a 17-play drive (technically 22 plays, but penalties negated a few) that took 11:22 off the clock.

"It just builds confidence as an offense and sustainability, because that's what I feel like the Panthers have been really good at, is just possessing the ball. And we knew that we had to do that ourselves," explained Shough.

"We had to sustain those drives. That's the name of the game in the NFL, really, is you've got to stay on the field. Give your defense that break, and obviously, you're operating, you want to drive. So it was a really, really good effort by all the guys, because you get tired down at the end. You've got to mentally train, physically train, but you train for those moments."

The Saints had three guys leave Sunday with an injury: running back Devin Neal, receiver Devaughn Vele, and Cesar Ruiz. As of now, there is no update on Alvin Kamara's future status.