The Atlanta Falcons had reasons to smile after Week 8. They knocked off their division rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on the road. That gave the Falcons a season sweep over the three-time defending NFC South champions.
The victory also essentially gave the Falcons a two-game lead in the current NFC South standings.
As evidenced by the home blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7, things can change quickly in the NFL. But heading into Week 9, NFL pundits appear to be feeling very good about the Falcons.
In the latest NFL power rankings from ESPN, the Falcons jumped from No. 16 to 11.
The Falcons made a similar leap on the NFL power rankings from NFL.com, going from No. 15 to 12 after Week 8.
"Hanging on to win Sunday-- this team wouldn't have it any other way -- has massive implications for the NFC South race. The Falcons are just a game up on Tampa, but their lead is bigger than it seems," wrote NFL.com's Eric Edholm. "Not only did Atlanta improve to 4-0 against the division, but the victory sealed the season sweep over the banged-up Buccaneers. Every other NFC South squad has two division losses.
"The Falcons are very much in the driver's seat for a home playoff game, as absurd as that feels to say at the midpoint of the season. Thanks to another strong outing, Kirk Cousins will end up having averaged nearly 90 pass yards perquarter against Tampa this season. The defense came up with two big second-half turnovers. And yes, it was another productive day for Kyle Pitts! Now, please keep that ball more tightly secured, sir."
Despite the Falcons taking control of the NFC South over the Buccaneers, Edholm's own power rankings suggest the two teams are still close. Edholm ranked the Buccaneers at No. 16 in his Week 9 power rankings.
But what he wrote still stands true -- the Buccaneers can pass the eye test for the rest of the season, but they need to win THREE more games than the Falcons in the final two months of the campaign to win the NFC South.
As for the rest of the NFC South, Edholm had the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers ranked 25th and 32nd (dead last) on his Week 9 power rankings.
Here are where the other NFC South teams were rated on the ESPN Week 9 power rankings:
Buccaneers - 13th
Saints - 22nd
Panthers - 32nd
