They’ve done it: the New Orleans Saints improved to 12-4 on the 2020 season with a win over the Carolina Panthers, who lost at home 33-7. Even without offensive superstars Michael Thomas (on injured reserve) and Alvin Kamara (on COVID-19 reserve), Drew Brees and his supporting cast racked up over 300 yards of offense, averaging nearly six yards per carry as a team.
The performance was powered by a big day from the Saints defense, which intercepted the Panthers quarterbacks five times while allowing just one conversion on third down. It was an impressive day all around after they knocked off some rust early on.
But here’s what’s most impressive: the Saints have now gone 6-0 against their NFC South rivals, sweeping the division for the first time since its founding way back in 2002. No other team has pulled that off: not the Panthers, not the Atlanta Falcons, and not the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each team has come close before with 5-1 records against their divisional opponents:
- Atlanta Falcons: 2010 and 2016
- Carolina Panthers: 2003, 2013, and 2015
- New Orleans Saints: 2011 and 2019
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2005 and 2007
But they’ve got bigger fish to fry. The Saints are advancing to the playoffs as NFC South champions, while the Buccaneers control the top wild-card seed. Carolina and Atlanta are faced with a long offseason of retooling and introspection before they’ll get a chance to compete again.
Here’s how the NFC South standings finalized for the 2020 season:
- 12-4 New Orleans Saints
- 11-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 5-11 Carolina Panthers
- 4-12 Atlanta Falcons
