There is one small bright spot to take away from the Saints' season-ending loss to the dirty birds. It won the Saints a piece of NFC South history.

The Carolina Panthers have officially clinched the NFC South thanks to the Atlanta Falcons' Week 18 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Panthers are NFC South champions, and they have the Falcons to thank. Carolina could have clinched the division on Saturday, but a 16-14 loss at Tampa Bay put the fate of the NFC South in the hands of the two teams that had only pride to play for.

The Panthers lost their final two games but backed into the playoffs after the Falcons' win over the Saints forced a three-way tie.

Sunday's game between the Saints and Falcons will determine the NFC South title after the Buccaneers' beat the Panthers on Sunday.

The Panthers lost a chance to win the NFC South on their own in Week 18. Now, they need help to get into the 2025 NFL playoffs over the Buccaneers.

A win by the Panthers over the Bucs on Saturday clinches the NFC South. If the Bucs win, the Falcons-Saints game on Sunday comes into play.

If the Falcons lose to the Saints on Sunday, the Buccaneers will secure their fifth straight NFC South title. On the flip side, Atlanta can send the Buccaneers home for the season and put the Panthers in the playoffs with a win over New Orleans.

The Vikings struggled with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was tabbed the new starter, even though Sam Darnold helped Minnesota reach the postseason. Ironically, Darnold won another 14 games for his new team in Seattle, and this time, his team captured the No. 1 seed after defeating the 49ers in a winner-take-all matchup on Saturday.

If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers and then the Falcons follow that up on Sunday with a win over the Saints, that would create a three-way tie at 8-9 and the Panthers would the division in that scenario due to having the best head-to-head record among all three teams.

Week 18 in the NFL had some great games with incredibly exciting finishes. There were also some games that weren’t as competitive due to poor performances or no playoff implications. Here is the report card grade for every NFC team that played in Week 18,

Chris Myers and Mark Schlereth praised the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints futures in NFC South matchup.