Loud South
With Thanksgiving having passed, now the division races begin to take definition, with contenders stepping forward and pretenders fading into the background.
With that, here’s a look at The Post’s NFL High Five for Week 12: No division in the NFL is headed for a more highly contested race in the final six weeks than the NFC South, where the Saints, Panthers and Falcons are battling for the title. The Saints, who play at the Rams on Sunday, are in the lead at 8-2 after an 0-2 start, followed by the 7-3 Panthers, who have won three in a row, and then the reigning Super Bowl runner-up Falcons, who are 6-4 and trending up. The Saints and Panthers, who play the Jets on Sunday, play each other on Dec. 3 in New Orleans in a division showdown game. If the playoffs began now, the NFC South would be the only division represented by three teams — with the Saints the No. 3 seed in the NFC, Carolina No. 5 and Atlanta No. 6. Never since the current division format began in 2002 has a division had three teams qualify for the playoffs.
The NFC South, not usually thought of as a power division, not only has represented the NFC in the Super Bowl each of the past two seasons, with Carolina (2015 season) and Atlanta (2016), but since 2002 it’s the only division to have all four of its teams make the Super Bowl. The 2002 Buccaneers and 2009 Saints won the Super Bowl.
A look at the three teams’ remaining schedules shows the Falcons, who play Tampa Bay on Sunday, with the toughest road. Their opponents have a combined record of 39-21. That’s the bad news. The good news is the next three are at home.
The Panthers’ opponents are 35-25, but quarterback Cam Newton is playing his best football of the season.
The Saints’ opponents are 34-26, but they’re feeling this season might be special after coming back from a 15-point deficit in the final three minutes to stun the Redskins.