NFL standings, Week 9: Breaking down the NFC South heading toward Week 10

It’s a safe bet that the NFC South title will come down to the closing minutes of Week 18. The division wrapped up its Week 9 slate and heads toward Week 10 with its third different team on top of the division standings.

The Atlanta Falcons entered the week tied with the New Orleans Saints atop the division, but held the division record tiebreaker edge. Atlanta was hosted a Vikings squad that lost Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles and was starting Jaren Hall. He in turn was knocked out of the game due to injury and recently acquired Joshua Dobbs entered the game. And somehow, the Vikings won this game. It was a back-and-forth game, but Dobbs drove the Vikings 75 yards in the final two minutes to stun the Falcons.

This opened the door for the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to gain ground in the division. The Saints handled their business while the Bucs came up short in their own shocker. New Orleans faced Tyson Bagent and the Bears and it was a tough one. Even though Bagent threw three interceptions, the Bears were still in this thing until the end. They lost 24-17 and it wasn’t exactly an inspiring performance by the Saints.

Nonetheless, they are now in first place in the division with a one-game lead on the Falcons and a game-and-a-half lead on the Bucs. Tampa somehow ended up in the most exciting game of the week and maybe of the season. Baker Mayfield drove the Bucs 61 yards in the closing minutes and found Cade Otton for a go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds left. However, C.J. Stroud was not to be outdone as the rookie QB is looking like the best player in this year’s draft class. He drove the Texans 75 yards in 40 seconds and found Tank Dell for a game-winning touchdown with six seconds left.

The Carolina Panthers closed out the day for the division and stumbled once again. They lost 27-13 to the Colts as Bryce Young struggled with three picks.

Below is a rundown of the NFC South division standings, each team’s opponent next week, and their division title odds at DraftKings Sportsbook heading toward Week 10.