CHARLOTTE — The Panthers were the only team in the NFC South to walk away from Week 9 with a win, following a 16-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers, who were the top team in the conference at the time. The Buccaneers were on a bye week, while both the Falcons and the Saints fell in their respective matchups. Teams faced a shakeup with the trade deadline on Tuesday as well.

Catch up around the division after Week 9.

Atlanta Falcons (3-5, 0-2): Fall in a nail-biter to the Patriots, make subsequent kicker changes

Drake London had a career day against the Patriots on Sunday. Parker Romo did not.

The former was the reason the Falcons stayed in a dog fight with the (now) 7-2 Patriots. London had three touchdown catches, the most in a single game in his four-year career, on nine total receptions for 118 yards. The nine receptions are the third most London has had in a single game in his career.

But after the Falcons walked off the field with a 24-23 loss, their fifth of the season, London didn't want to focus on his stat line.

"I don't care if I had just one catch, no catches or anything like that," London told reporters. "It's a loss. I don't care about any personal stats or any bullshit like that."

The loss was due to several reasons, including the defense giving up 259 yards and one touchdown (plus one interception) on 19-29 passing to Drake Maye, as well as the Patriots' offense going 8-12 on third down and 3-4 in the red zone. Or the Falcons' offense converting just 1-10 on their own third-down opportunities.

But what will be remembered is Romo, the young kicker who replaced Younghoe Koo, unable to make an extra point attempt after London's final touchdown with under five minutes to play. The PAT would have tied the game. Instead, the Patriots were able to wrangle two other possessions out of the remaining time and keep the ball away from the Falcons long enough to notch the one-point win.

On Monday, coach Raheem Morris indicated the Falcons would look at other kickers.

"Obviously, we've got to look at that, and we've started that process already," Falcons head Morris said. "We've worked out a bunch of different people, so we better bring people in and figure out what it's going to be this week. At the end of the day, you've got to make that kick. Like we talked about, those pressure situations aren't built on practice fields, they're built in games, and they're built in that environment."

On Tuesday, the Falcons waived Romo and reportedly signed veteran Zane Gonzalez. In his career, Gonzalez has gone 96-of-120 on field-goal attempts with a career-long of 57 yards, which he made as a member of the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He has also made 146 of his 153 (95 percent) career extra points, with a perfect 19-of-19 last season. The Falcons also have Lenny Krieg on the practice squad.

Atlanta also signed offensive lineman Andrew Stueber on Tuesday, who spent the 2024 preseason with the Falcons before being added to the Bengals' active roster last year.

The Falcons travel to Germany next for a Week 10 matchup against the Colts (7-2).

New Orleans Saints (1-8, 0-1): A new QB and two major trades change landscape of Saints

The Saints started a new era on Sunday, behind new starting quarterback Tyler Shough. The rookie replaced second-year passer Spencer Rattler in Week 8, and head coach Kellen Moore elected to roll with the second-round Louisville product again this week against the Rams, for Shough's first career start.

Shough went 15-of-24 for 176 yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the offense struggled to get going; and on the other side, the defense couldn't contain Matthew Stafford. It all led to a 34-10 loss for the Saints.

But the game is secondary news in New Orleans this week. On Tuesday, the Saints snuck in two major transactions at the trade deadline, sending away two offensive starters.

Rashid Shaheed, the Saints' second leading receiver (44 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns) and return specialist (10 punt returns for 129 yards), was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick in 2026.

In his three-and-a-half years with New Orleans, Shaheed had 42 career games with 28 starts, bringing in 138 receptions for 2,055 yards (14.9 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. In 2023, Shaheed was named an AP first-team All-Pro punt returner and Pro Bowl starter at return specialist.

The club wasn't done, though. Just before the deadline, New Orleans traded starting left guard Trevor Penning to the Los Angeles Chargers (the Chargers lost left tackle Joe Alt to a season-ending ankle injury on Sunday) in exchange for a 2027 draft pick. Penning was a first-round draft pick by New Orleans in 2022. He played in 46 career games, with 29 starts, and was used at multiple positions along the offensive line. Penning started all 17 games at right tackle in 2024, before switching to left guard for this season.

The Saints will travel to Charlotte to face the Panthers (5-4) in Week 10, marking only the second divisional game for both teams.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2, 2-0): Quiet on the front as Bucs enjoy bye week

Things were all quiet on the water for the Buccaneers this week, as Tampa Bay enjoyed a Week 9 bye and stayed pat around the swirl of a crazy trade deadline. With the Bucs off and the Panthers notching a win, the difference in the NFC South standings closed to 1.5 games.

The only move of note for the Bucs this week was the practice window opening for tackle Luke Goedeke. The right tackle had his 21-day window opened on Monday, as the Bucs enjoyed a bonus day of practice coming off the bye.

Goedeke first injured his foot in Week 1 before aggravating it in Week 2. The Bucs eventually placed the starter on IR in Week 3. He technically could be eligible to return as soon as Sunday's Week 10 game.

Tampa Bay remains optimistic about the chance to return wide receivers Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Jalen McMillan, as well as running back Bucky Irving, from the IR list. Evans, as a reminder, broke his collarbone in Week 7 in a loss to the Lions. The injury typically requires a 6-8 week recovery, which would return him around Week 14, under the best-case scenario.

The Bucs are back on the field this weekend to face the red-hot Patriots (7-2).