Just like we all expected, Panthers-Falcons will be for NFC South’s top spot

After this weekend, either the Carolina Panthers or the Atlanta Falcons will be a first-place team.

The winner of the Carolina Panthers (2-5) at the Atlanta Falcons (3-4) will be sitting atop the NFC South standings all by themselves at the end of Week 8.

This comes as quite a shock. Although we had a sneaking the NFC South might be in for a bad time this year, who saw this as a possibility heading into November? While some people were high on the Panthers at the start of the year, they were the first team to fire their head coach this season. As for the Falcons, this was a team many people thought would be up for the No. 1 overall pick.

Yes, we are about to live in a world where either the 3-5 Panthers or the 4-4 Falcons will be in sole possession of first place heading into Halloween. Spooky, I know, but this is about to be our reality.

I-85 has never felt more alive for Carolina Panthers (2-5) at Atlanta Falcons (3-4)

I did the math so you wouldn’t have to on the finest of Fridays. You can thank me later, or not. Regardless, here is how one of these two NFC South rivals would find themselves in first place after Sunday’s festivities. Prepare yourselves for the simple fact that the New Orleans Saints (2-5) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5) have been ghastly bad for their lofty standards this season…

A win for the Dirty Birds would get them to 4-4, a mark of .500 many people never thought was possible. Atlanta is carrying an absurd amount of dead cap. Despite having who appears to be the best head coach in division in Arthur Smith, his cash-strapped team has a finite ceiling. His boys are playing hard, but the clock could strike midnight on this cute Cinderella story in the Dirty South.

While the Falcons having at least one more win than all of their division rivals would make this the simplest outcome, a win for the Panthers thrusts them atop the NFC South standings at 3-5. This is because all three of Carolina’s wins would have come over its division rivals. The Panthers beat the Saints at home on Sept. 25 and tasted sweet victory over the Buccaneers at home last week.

With this game being in Atlanta, all the pressure is on the Falcons to win it. They may have three victories on the year, but all of them have come from outside the division (Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers). Keep in mind that two of their losses on the year have come in-division to the Saints at home in a total meltdown and at Tampa Bay in total controversy.

This is an opportunity for Smith and the boys to show us what they are really made of. Not to say the Panthers are completely devoid of talent, but Steve Wilks is the interim coach and P.J. Walker is the starting quarterback. Atlanta does not have a strong home-field advantage. Plus, anything and everything can happen in a division rivalry game. Regardless, the Falcons have to win this one.

Are we about to live in a world where the 3-5 Panthers lead to the benching of Marcus Mariota?