Sunday was Separation Sunday in the most competitive division in football.
Heading into Week 13, the NFC South boasted three legitimate playoff teams in the Panthers, the Saints and the Falcons, with the former two meeting for the second time this season and the latter hosting the playoff-bound Vikings. Carolina and New Orleans were knotted atop the division at 8–3 with Atlanta trailing by a game. But with a Falcons loss and a Saints victory, New Orleans is now in clear control of the NFC South with a quarter of the season left to play.
The Saints, who topped the Panthers 31–21 at home Sunday, completed a series sweep of the Cats for the first time since 2011—now they hold that tiebreaker and outpace the Falcons by two games in the standings heading into their Thursday night tilt.