Nine weeks of the 2018 NFL season are gone and it’s hard to believe

Buccaneers did Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats , at one time, lead the NFC South. Their 42-28 road loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday dropped them to 3-5 on the year. There’s likely no coming back for Tampa Bay, which could mean the end is near for head coach Dirk Koetter and his staff. Koetter has already fired his defensive coordinator and changed his quarterback, so there aren’t a lot of options left.While the Bucs continuously fail to show up for a full 60 minutes, the other three teams in the NFC South are repeatedly proving why they are in playoff contention year in and year out. Let’s check in on what unfolded around the rest of the division this week.New Orleans Saints (7-1)The Saints took a 35-17 lead into halftime against the previously-undefeated Rams before ultimately winning 45-35. Drew Brees controlled the game early on, completing 17 of his 22 passes in the first half for 211 yards and three touchdowns. The game was locked at 14-14 midway through the second quarter, but New Orleans went on a 21-0 run from there. Brees found Tre’Quan Smith and Benjamin Watson for touchdowns before Alvin Kamara added to the lead with a one-yard touchdown run. Los Angeles made it a game again by going on an 18-0 run from the final minute of the second quarter until the 6:23 mark in the fourth. But after that, the Saints scored the game’s final 10 points to hand the Rams their first loss of the season.Brees finished the afternoon with 346 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-36 passing. Michael Thomas continued his spectacular season with 211 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches. Kamara had another big day of his own, rushing for 82 yards and two touchdowns while catching four passes for 34 yards and another touchdown. With the victory, the Saints held on to first place in the division and moved into a tie with the Rams for the top spot in the NFC. Up Next: at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)Carolina Panthers (6-2)The Panthers won for the fifth time in their last six games on Sunday, beating the Buccaneers 42-28 at home. A franchise-record 35 points in the first half was enough to give Carolina a comfortable lead. After a punt on their opening possession, the Panthers put up touchdowns on five straight possessions to end the half. Four different players scored those touchdowns: Alex Armah, Christian McCaffrey (two), Curtis Samuel and Greg Olsen. The Bucs tried to come back in the second half, scoring 21 straight points to get within 35-28. On the next drive Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hoodie , Cam Newton threw his second touchdown pass to seal the victory.Newton finished the afternoon 19-of-25 for 247 yards and two touchdowns, but McCaffrey was Carolina’s top performer. He ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries while catching five passes for 78 more yards. Olsen caught all six of his targets for 76 yards and a score. The sleeper for player of the game was Samuel, who had two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). The Panther defense struggled in the second half, but both Eric Reid and Donte Jackson intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick for the game’s only two turnovers.Up Next: at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2-1)— Thursday Night FootballAtlanta Falcons (4-4)The Falcons got themselves back to the .500 mark on Sunday with an impressive 38-14 road win over the Redskins. Atlanta took a 21-7 lead into halftime and coasted from there. It was another well-rounded performance for the Falcons, who have now won three straight. Matt Ryan and Tevin Coleman connected for a 39-yard touchdown to start the scoring before Ito Smith extended his team’s lead to 14-0. After an Alex Smith touchdown pass brought Washington within 14-7, Ryan and rookie Calvin Ridley linked up for a 40-yard score. With another Ryan-to-Coleman connection early in the third quarter, the game was comfortably in hand for Atlanta.Ryan finished his day with 350 yards and four touchdowns (to one interception) on 26-of-38 passing. The veteran quarterback had plenty of help from Coleman, Ridley and Julio Jones. Coleman ran 13 times for 88 yards and caught five passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Along with his touchdown, Ridley had six catches for 71 yards. Jones was the team’s leading receiver once again, catching seven passes for 121 yards and his first touchdown of the year. Atlanta’s offense put up 491 total yards.Up Next: at Cleveland Browns (2-6-1) While most of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used their bye week to get away from work and relax, Jameis Winston stayed closer to home and continued to prepare for his first start in nearly 10 months.The No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft missed the first three games of the season while serving a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.Winston came off the bench for the second half of a 48-10 loss to the Chicago Bears two weeks ago. On Sunday, he resumes his role as Tampa Bay's starting quarterback against struggling NFC South rival Atlanta.The fourth-year pro said Thursday he's both grateful to be back and eager to help the Bucs improve on a 2-2 start."I'm thankful I had the support of my teammates and the (organization) throughout the suspension," said Winston, who was disciplined by the league following an investigation of an accusation that he groped a female Uber driver in Arizona in 2016."I worked so hard for this opportunity Youth Customized Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys ," to have a NFL career, the quarterback said. "To have it taken away briefly, it can make you reflect on things. Every day is a blessing to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and play this great game. I've got to do my best to take advantage of it."Winston is taking the reins of the NFL's top passing attack and No. 2-ranked offense overall, thanks to a record-breaking performance by veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick.Fitzpatrick, who's played for seven teams during a 14-year career, became the first player in league history to top 400 yards passing in three consecutive games.The Bucs opened with upsets of New Orleans and Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, then were outscored 68-13 in the first half of losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bears, who led 38-3 when Fitzpatrick was benched.Winston was 16 of 20 for 145 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the second half at Chicago. Sunday's start will be his first since Dec. 31, when his 39-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin on Tampa Bay's final offensive play of last season gave the Bucs a 31-24 upset of the Saints.The Bucs were encouraged by the way Winston played after sitting out three games with a shoulder injury last fall.One of the knocks on the 24-year-old has been his lack of accuracy on deep throws. However, coach Dirk Koetter and offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Winston has made strides since returning from the injury that hindered him most of 2017."The thing on that is Jameis' shoulder was worse than we thought it was for a longer period than we thought," Koetter said."Jameis is a competitor and wants to play. We finally rested his shoulder, he threw the ball better, period, after that www.buccaneersauthorizedshops.com ," the coach added. "He definitely had to alter some things mechanically in order to play when his shoulder was hurt. He's not the only quarterback in the league who does that."While teammates scattered for the bye week, Winston chose to spend the six-day break doing individual work and getting acclimated to his normal routine."I basically did similar things I did the three weeks I was away," Winston said. "It was kind of an odd place for me to be because I hadn't played three games. I did get the little experience against Chicago, so I had to stay on it."Now that he's back, Winston and the Bucs don't see any reason the team shouldn't continue to be explosive offensively with Winston throwing to a talented group of receivers that includes Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Adam Humphries and Godwin, as well as tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate."I'm very confident about that. We have some great (playmakers)," Winston said."You started to see more confidence throwing the ball down the field, making those types of throws (late last season)," Monken said Thursday. "That's carried over from what I've seen in the preseason and the last couple of days."