We’ll have to wait one more day to learn who takes the NFC South crown.

The Buccaneers, losers of seven of their last eight coming into today, were able to piece together a tough, 16-14 win in bad weather against the Panthers. It was a calming three hours for the Bucs and their fans, who had seen their team go from theorized Super Bowl contender in the early months of the season to bottomless freefall.

Had the Panthers found a way to win today, the NFC South, and the #4 seed in the NFC, would have been determined. Instead, we’ll have to wait another day, as a matchup between the two NFC South rivals who are eliminated from the postseason entirely will now determine everything. Certainly ironic, but great for drama.

The New Orleans Saints travel to the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow to wrap up their respective seasons, and while they’re not playing for much more than pride, both the Buccaneers and Panthers will be watching with great interest. If the Falcons win, today will prove to be little more than a minor setback for Carolina, and they’ll win the division regardless.

However, should the Saints get the road upset, everything gets flipped. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were seemingly skidding towards a shocking early offseason, would be awarded the division on tiebreakers. Their Week Eight 23-3 victory over New Orleans, at the time seemingly innocuous, would end up salvaging their playoff spot.

Both Atlanta and New Orleans are on hot runs right now, the Falcons winners of three straight and the Saints on a four game streak. It’s a surprisingly compelling game given that both teams are guaranteed losing records on the season.

And this is very relevant to the Seattle Seahawks, because depending on tonight’s result in San Francisco, the NFC South division winner will either possibly, or definitely, be the team they play in their first playoff game.

If Seattle prevails tonight and takes the top seed in the NFC, it is entirely possible that their Divisional Round opponent is whoever comes out on top here. As the top seed, they play the lowest remaining seed, which would be either Carolina or Tampa Bay if all three home teams win on Wild Card Weekend. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s entirely possible.

On the other hand, if the Seahawks drop their game tonight and end up the #5 seeded NFC squad, then they’re drawing the winner of the NFC South in the first round for sure. Seattle has already played both teams this year, dropping an early-season bout to Tampa Bay 38-35, and just last week handling Carolina 27-10.

Of course, the Buccaneers were a far better team in that Week Five matchup, and the Seahawks have changed radically over the last three months as well, so it’s a matter of debate which team Seattle matches up better with. I imagine most Seahawks fans would feel good about either opponent, but there’s probably a preference somewhere in there.

Regardless, we’ll be waiting one more day to find out who the opponent will be, by which Seattle will already know if they’re watching the first round of the playoffs on a bye, or facing off against the south’s winner on the road.

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Kicker Harrison Mevis aims to get back on track when the Rams play the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Mevis, signed by the Rams in November, made all eight of his field-goal attempts before missing from 48 yards late in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 18 in Seattle.

“Just continuing to keep firing away,” Mevis said. “I’m not going to be perfect in my career — nobody is. And it’s all about how you respond and bounce back and make the next kick.”

In the aftermath of the loss, which included a fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown by the Seahawks, Rams coach Sean McVay fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn.

Three of the Rams’ four losses have resulted from major kicking-game miscues, and Blackburn’s firing was just the latest change made to solve the issues.

When the Rams signed Mevis to replace Joshua Karty — who last week was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Rams practice squad — they also brought in veteran snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward.

The game against the Falcons will serve as Ben Kotwica’s debut as interim special teams coordinator.

Kotwica has worked in the NFL for most of the last 18 years, and he coached with McVay on Washington’s staff. Kotwica was the Denver Broncos special teams coordinator in 2023 and 2024 before joining the Rams staff as a special teams assistant.

“We’ve had a couple of plays that have cost us during the course of the year, but I love the way that our guys are going about the business,” Kotwica said. “They understand the urgency. We’re part of a championship football team and we’re just ready to contribute to holding up that Lombardi [Trophy] early next year.”

Key injuries

Rams: OL Kevin Dotson (ankle, out); DB Josh Wallace (ankle, out); WR Davante Adams (hamstring, doubtful); OL Alaric Jackson (knee, questionable); DL Braden Fiske (ankle, questionable but expected to play); CB Roger McCreary (hip, expected to be activated to roster from injured reserve).

Falcons: CB Mike Hughes (ankle, out); CB Clark Phillips III (triceps/illness, out); DL Sam Roberts (knee/ankle, out); WR Drake London (knee, questionable).

How to watch and listen to Rams vs. Falcons

The Rams (11-4) and the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) will play at 5:15 p.m. PST Monday. The game will be shown on ABC in the Los Angeles area and nationally on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. In Southern California, fans can listen to the game on 710 AM, 93.1 FM and 1330 AM (Español).

Betting odds and lines for Rams vs. Falcons

Who will win Rams vs. Falcons?

Gary Klein’s pick: A few weeks ago, this looked like a potential easy victory for the Rams. Now it could be more difficult. Still, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will outduel Kirk Cousins. Rams 30, Falcons 24

The Panthers Played 1920s Football In The 2020s

The Carolina Panthers had 40 net yards passing on Sunday, in a game where they never once held the lead. Bryce Young averaged 1.54 yards per dropback on plays that didn’t end in him scrambling. Jalen Coker led the team in receiving yards, nearly doubling second place, with sixteen of them. Stud rookie Tet McMillan had five yards. WR2 Xavier Leggette had three yards.

It’s safe to say that whatever buttons Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde pushed before and during this game, they were the correct buttons to push. This is the kind of one-sided dominance that you’d expect to see in a college game, where Alabama plays against Troy, or Oregon draws Idaho. Maybe against a fourth string quarterback who has no business playing.

But this was former #1 overall pick Bryce Young, starting quarterback for a Carolina Panthers team that has playoff aspirations with one week to go. They had all their starters except for right guard Rob Hunt, who has been missing for some time anyway. This Panthers team has upset the Los Angeles Rams and beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the last month.

It’s a real team. But when it came to throwing the ball on this particular Sunday, they didn’t really look like one. And don’t forget to consider that their running game was perfectly competent as well, averaging about four yards a carry before a couple of game-ending kneeldowns. How did Seattle do it? Star receiver Tetairoa McMillan chimed in after the game.

McMillan Explains It All

In a locker room interview shortly after the game ended, McMillan referenced how Seattle caught Carolina off-guard by playing more man coverage than expected.

“I think it just caught us by surprise. And obviously it puts more pressure on the quarterback, because they get back there faster,” he explained. “But then, at the same time, it’s up to the receivers to get open. To create a clear picture for Bryce.”

McMillan’s lone catch of the day came with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, Carolina down by ten and deep in their own territory. Facing 4th and 17, Bryce Young checked it down over the middle to Tet, who was quickly tackled by Julian Love to get the ball back to Seattle’s offense. It was a day to forget for him in particular, who has had an excellent rookie campaign to this point.

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It certainly makes sense why Carolina wouldn’t expect Seattle to play much man defense. According to data collected by Football Insights, Seattle’s defense is in zone on 78% of their snaps and in man coverage on just 17% (the remaining 5% is plays where the coverage type wasn’t clear). The split in the previous six games is 78%/21%.

There are a few other teams that play man less than Seattle, but not many, which goes well with their near-league low blitz rate. So you can certainly understand why Carolina wasn’t anticipating anything different. After all, the way in which Seattle has played defense all season has resulted in one of the best squads in football and inside track to the top seed in the NFC.

But Macdonald clearly saw an advantage in switching things up, a luxury afforded to him with elite cover corners like Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen on the field. Clearly, former Seahawk coach Dave Canales wasn’t ready for it, and on a day where Seattle needed an elite defensive performance to get the win, this was a big part of the formula.

This is the sort of thing that Seattle will hopefully have in their back pocket come postseason time, when the edges are small and unexpected coaching adjustments can make a big difference. With the offense having some issues in recent weeks, the defense may need to be elite to get wins, so it’s good to have a Mike Macdonald on your side.