CHARLOTTE — Nothing worth having comes easy, and nothing in the NFC South comes about in a normal way. Every team in the division fell in Week 1. But these weren't your normal, run-of-the-mill losses. Each and every one came about in a perfectly unique NFC South way.

The Carolina Panthers (0-1) found themselves in a shootout with the Chicago Bears. It was tied 31-all midway through the third quarter before the Bears took off for a 59-37 win. The 96 combined points made it the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history.

Division play will begin in Week 2, with the Panthers facing the Falcons in Atlanta in the first NFC South game of the season. Before we turn our attention there, though, let's take a look around the division.

From last-second overtime thrillers to defensive scoring and more, here's what happened around the rest of the NFC South in Week 1.

New Orleans Saints (0-1, 31-30 loss to Lions): Thrilling comeback in Detroit falls short in overtime

Tyler Shough hasn't been playing long — Sunday was only the 10th start of his career — but he orchestrated one of the better comebacks in the NFL this week, pushing the Detroit Lions to the only overtime game of the week after the Saints initially fell behind 21-0. But in the end, it wasn't enough for New Orleans.

The game in Detroit was marked by defensive performances and seizing opportunities in the first half. At halftime, the Lions held a 1-0 lead, and Shough went 10-of-22 for 85 yards and an interception in the first half.

On the other side of the ball, New Orleans' defense thought they'd notched a touchdown to help their offense in the second quarter, when Chase Young appeared to sack Jared Goff, causing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Instead, a review overturned the play, calling it an incomplete pass.

It appeared the second half was going to go much the same way. The Saints' first two possessions of the third quarter ended with an interception and a sack-fumble, respectively. The Lions sacked Shough five times over the course of the game and faced quarterback pressure 26 times, the most in the league in Week 1.

But then, Shough reminded people why he was a rookie of the year finalist last year. In the second half and overtime, he went 25-of-34 for 325 yards and three touchdowns (plus the interception and fumble). He finished the game 35-of-56 for 410 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. On downfield passes (10-plus air yards), Shough completed 11-of-16 attempts for 261 yards and a touchdown, the most such yards by a Saints quarterback since Drew Brees in Week 6, 2016.

Chris Olave might not have scored a touchdown, but he made his presence more than known with 10 receptions for 182 yards. And Travis Etienne, making his Saints debut, was the leading rusher with nine carries for 46 yards.

After the Saints pushed the Lions to overtime, Detroit got the ball first and scored a touchdown, adding a PAT to take a seven-point lead. Shough and the offense answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped with a touchdown to Noah Fant. With only 1:34 left in overtime, Coach Kellen Moore elected to go for the win, but the two-point conversion fell incomplete.

"The defense did a lot of good things in the first half; they competed, they battled. They kept that offense from scoring for the most part," Saints Coach Kellen Moore said. "I think in the second half we started slow again on offense ... I think we finally got to that point where we started executing, and I think that allowed us to use some tempo offense to get some more plays to get the ball downfield.

"I think in all three phases we are going to have some stuff we liked and some stuff we've just got to get better at."

Next game: At Baltimore Ravens (1-0)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1, 33-27 loss to Bengals): Turnovers tell the story in a field-goal and defensive showcase

There were 12 scores in Cincinnati on Sunday. Only four of them are what would be considered normal offensive touchdowns. In total, the two teams scored six field goals, each club got a defensive score, and there was only one punt all game: the Bengals on their opening drive.

But the story of the game was the fumbles. Tampa Bay either scored or turned the ball over. In total, the Bucs lost four fumbles in Sunday's loss. Bucky Irving lost one. Baker Mayfield lost the other three, all of which led to Bengals touchdowns; two on the ensuing drives and one returned 27 yards for a touchdown.

"This one falls on me," said Mayfield. "I think they had 17 points alone off my turnovers, and it turns out to be a one-score game, six points. Offensively, it's frustrating when you do something like that, when you're moving the ball down the field. If we get that fixed, I get that fixed, make some corrections, we'll be alright."

It was an interesting day for Mayfield. He received a new extension and a new offensive coordinator and play-caller this offseason (Zac Robinson). He went 23-of-28 for 216 yards on Sunday. But he didn't throw a touchdown, was sacked 4.0 times, and had three fumbles.

Additionally, he and Robinson played the short game as Mayfield averaged 4.7 air yards per attempt (fourth-fewest) and 2.0 air yards per completion, the third-fewest in a game in his career according to Next Gen Stats.

The Bucs defense — which held Ja'Marr Chase to two receptions for 12 yards — seemed to find a star though in rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter. He had a game-high 10 tackles, plus a sack, two tackles for loss, and an interception returned for a touchdown. He picked off Joe Burrow in the third quarter, returning the ball 38 yards to make it a one-score game.

Trotter became the first player in franchise history to record an interception return for a touchdown in his NFL debut and joined T.J. Watt as the only two NFL players over the last decade to have recorded a sack, an interception, and posted five-plus tackles in their rookie debut. Trotter is the only player in NFL history sack and a pick-6 in their NFL debut.

The Bengals added two field goals in the fourth quarter while Mayfield posted a rushing touchdown to make it a one-possession game. But Burrow and Cincinnati ran out the final 3:19 on the clock with a methodical eight-play drive for the win.

"Obviously, you can't turn the ball over," said coach Todd Bowles. "We had four turnovers, and we lost by one touchdown. It wasn't just that. We had some penalties and false starts there. Defensively, I'd be interested to know how many tackles we missed. We missed some chip-shot tackles to get the ball back at the end and give our offense a chance."

Starting corner Jacob Parrish left in the first half with a back injury, and Bowles told reporters on Monday, "He just has a back sprain. Both X-ray and MRI came back negative, so it's just a matter of getting over the soreness."

Next game: vs. Cleveland Browns (0-1)

Atlanta Falcons (0-1, 20-13 loss to Steelers): QB questions overshadow strong defensive performance in Pittsburgh

Even if nothing else in the NFC South makes sense, there is always one truth: Bijan Robinson is inevitable. The league leader in yards from scrimmage last season, Robinson got right back to work on Sunday in Pittsburgh. He accounted for 73 percent of the Falcons' total offense, thanks to 21 carries for 83 yards on the ground and eight receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown through the air.

The Falcons might have ample quarterback questions (more on that below), but when all else fails, Robinson can be counted on to step up and make a play.

"Bijan's a great player," Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said after the performance. "We're going to keep leaning on him in all of these games, and we have to—obviously you guys know this—we have to find ways to get all of our guys touches, and that's definitely going to be a focus of ours.

"I thought, Bijan, the plays that were there when our guys executed at a high level, which was a few times today, you could see where he just needs a little bit of a crease."

For as special as Robinson is though, there was only so much he could do as the Falcons game-planned around quarterback questions in Week 1. After Robinson, the next-closest receiver was Drake London, with just two receptions for 29 yards.

Cooper Rush started the game — despite back spasms — in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa (oblique), who was starting in place of the injured Michael Penix Jr. (ACL). Rush finished going 12-of-22 for 143 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Despite losing two of their top three leading rushers from 2025 (Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.), the Falcons found a spark with veteran pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith. On a mere 14 snaps, he had 2.0 sacks and three tackles.

Smith was joined by a front that pressured Aaron Rodgers 13 times overall, led by defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus, with four pressures.

A pick-six by TJ Watt on Rush, another interception in the second quarter that led to a touchdown drive, and two missed field goals made the difference in a one-possession game. Now, attention turns back to where it's been most of the offseason: the quarterbacks.

Stefanski told reporters Monday he had no updates on the trio of passers dealing with various injuries. However, Penix was a full participant in practice all of last week as he looks to make his comeback.

Next game: vs. Panthers (0-1)