Through the first five weeks of the season, only one team has multiple wins against an NFC South team. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers melted down on Thursday night, the Atlanta Falcons stand alone atop the division and have early control of an important tiebreaker.
Atlanta’s win over Tampa Bay follows its victory over New Orleans. That gives the Falcons an advantage over everyone else, with a 2-0 divisional record. The Buccaneers have a chance to even things out with a win over the Saints next week, but New Orleans has the same incentive after losing to Atlanta.
It’s entirely chaotic, but it also serves as a sort of feather in the cap of a division that typically gets written off as being nothing more than a motley crew of mediocre teams. The margin for error is already thin, and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is sending a message to the rest of the NFC South after taking an early season lead…