It can be a lot of fun when an NFL division is bad, because unpredictable things will happen. That's the case in the NFC South, which on Sunday saw its last-place team dominate its first-place team while another team in the division randomly went out and knocked off the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

Through seven weeks of NFL action, every team in the division is within a game in the win column. Are the Panthers still the best team in the division, or has Sunday's blowout loss changed the situation?

4. New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints were supposed to put something together this season. Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough was impressive as a rookie, throwing off all the age concerns to show he was an NFL-ready quarterback who you could win with, not the second coming of Brandon Weeden. Shough has been fine this season, but aside from a rise in touchdown rate from 3.1 percent to 4.8 percent, he's basically been the same quarterback he was in 2025. There's been no step forward for Shough.

What there has been for the Saints is a clear step back on the other side of the ball. Last season, New Orleans went 6-11, finishing in the middle of the pack defensively by allowing 22.5 points per game, 16th-best in the NFL. Fast forward to now and that's up to 27.7 points per game, 28th-best in the league. The offense has improved its scoring total from 2025, but not by enough to offset the defensive issues.

Can this team get better? Sure, maybe. Jordyn Tyson has yet to make his NFL debut with a hamstring injury, but it seems we're getting closer to his return date. He'd give Shough another weapon alongside Chris Olave, which theoretically raises the floor and ceiling of the offense. But at the same time, the Saints are counting on a rookie wide receiver to save them from finishing at the bottom of the NFL's worst division, which is...not great.

3. Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers remain in first place in the NFC South, but Sunday's 43-13 defeat against the Buccaneers exposed some key problems with this team. Quarterback Bryce Young has played well overall this season, but Week 7 showed he still has an inconsistent streak, and it exposed how quickly the weapons fall off. Tetairoa McMillan is a really good wide receiver, but behind him there's Jalen Coker (inconsistent but talented) and Darren Waller (34-year-old tight end whose only current skill is catching touchdowns) and then, uhh...that's about it. Still, the team is fifth in points scored this season, so something has mostly worked.

Carolina can win with this offense, but the team is 27th in the NFL in points allowed, giving up 27.7 points per game. That number could be worse if the team hadn't lucked into playing against Cooper Rush in the Week 2 contest against the Falcons, then against Tanner McKee last week against the Eagles.

That right there might be what gives me the most pause. Of Carolina's three wins, two were against backup quarterbacks. The only win over a full-strength team was Week 4 against the Lions. That was a good win! It was! Young managed to pull off the win in a game where the defense let Jared Goff throw for 412 yards, an impressive feat for the Panthers offense. At the same time, Goff threw for 412 yards, which shows again how the defense has struggled.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Despite a horrible start to the season, the 2-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are currently the only NFC South team to have a positive point differential. Of course, Sunday's drubbing of the first-place Panthers played a big role in that.

The Buccaneers aren't a bad football team. They're not a good one either, but they aren't bad, and the team's poor start to the season had some to do with the fact that Jalon Daniels started three games. Even then with Daniels in the lineup, Tampa came close to winning two more games, falling by three to the Packers and losing in overtime against the Steelers. With Baker Mayfield back under center, the Buccaneers are far closer to the top of the division than the bottom.

That's not to say there aren't concerns. Mayfield is 1-3 in games he's started this season, so just having him back in the lineup isn't a guarantee of anything. On the other hand, his losses have all been close ones against teams with winning records, so that should be factored in as well. I don't think the Buccaneers are the best team in the NFC South, but Todd Bowles saving his job with a late winning streak to take the division crown is one of the most likely outcomes here.

1. Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons had to start Cooper Rush twice to open the season. They lost both games as the offense looked inept. But since getting Michael Peix back, this has looked like a whole new team. Penix is 3-2 in games he's started, and he's thrown nine touchdowns to just one interception while completing 66.7 percent of his passes.

Yes, a two-game losing streak to the Ravens and Bears introduced a bit of doubt into this team's upside, but the loss to Baltimore went to overtime and the loss to the Bears was a loss to one of the NFC's best teams. On Sunday, we saw what this team is really capable of when it plays its best, as Atlanta handed the 49ers their first loss of the season, winning 29-20 in what was just a complete effort on both sides of the ball.

The offense has a very capable quarterback with weapons at running back, wide receiver and tight end. The defense has been mediocre, ranking 21st in points allowed, but mediocre is an improvement over many of the other NFC South teams. If Penix keeps performing like he has, then you have to view the Falcons as the favorites in the division going forward, and if he'd have been available for Week 1 and Week 2, this division race might already be over.