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Going into the 2020 NFL season, the NFC South was arguably the league's most interesting division.
Tom Brady's move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- followed by big-name additions like Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette -- made the Bucs an instant Super Bowl contender on paper.
The New Orleans Saints were coming off a disappointing playoff exit -- an overtime loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round -- but still expected to contend for a Super Bowl at least one more time before 41-year-old Drew Brees gets too old to be an elite NFL quarterback.
The Carolina Panthers were hitting reset on their franchise after parting ways with former No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Newton and head coach Ron Rivera.
And the Atlanta Falcons were potentially going to find out if their Super Bowl window was still open, or if it was time to rethink the Matt Ryan and Julio Jones era.
After the NFL's Week 12, there's a clear line between the top half of the division and the bottom half.
4. Carolina Panthers (4-8)
In Week 11, the Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak and put together one of their best overall performances of the season in a 20-0 shutout of the Detroit Lions. The Panthers pulled that off with backup quarterback P.J. Walker -- who came to the NFL from the XFL -- so they appeared to be in great standing in Week 12 with that momentum and starting QB Teddy Bridgewater making his return.
The Panthers were in position to beat the Minnesota Vikings on the road in Week 12, but gave up the game-winning touchdown to Kirk Cousins and Co. in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
In addition to rebuilding with Bridgewater and first-year NFL head coach Matt Rhule, the Panthers have played most of this season without star running back Christian McCaffrey. In a sense, they've overachieved with their 4-8 record.
The Panthers have a bye in Week 13.
3. Atlanta Falcons (4-7)
The Falcons, meanwhile, have underachieved the majority of this season. They have too much talent to start off 0-5, which is why coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff were fired midseason.
Atlanta has improved under interim coach Raheem Morris, going 4-2 in their last six games, highlighted by last week's 43-6 destruction of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Falcons' defense led the way against the Raiders and got a balanced effort from the offense. Linebacker Deion Jones had a 67-yard pick-six to go with his five tackles.
The Falcons host the Saints in Week 13.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
Last week's game between the Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs was hyped as a potential Super Bowl preview and had a real NFL playoff atmosphere. A lot of that hyped died down when the Bucs fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter, but Tampa Bay fought back in what was ultimately a 27-24 loss.
The Buccaneers have now lost three of their last four games, but they still have to be considered a NFL title contender thanks to the mere presence of Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, and underrated playmaker Ronald Jones II.
Their offense is perhaps the most star-studded group in the NFL, but the team's inconsistency is hurting them.
The Bucs have a bye in Week 13.
1. New Orleans Saints (9-2)
Last week's game was more like an NFL-sanctioned scrimmage for the Saints. When the Denver Broncos had all of the quarterbacks on their roster ruled out due to COVID-19 and the NFL wouldn't postpone the game, Denver had to face New Orleans with rookie wide receiver Kendall Hinton starting at quarterback.
To no one's surprise, the Saints rolled to a relatively easy 31-3 victory.
It was the third time in the last four weeks that the Saints defense has held an opponent to single digits on the scoreboard.
Quarterback Taysom Hill didn't have to do much throwing the ball in his second start filling in for Brees -- he only completed nine passes for 78 yards -- but Hill ran for two touchdowns.
The Saints play the Falcons on the road in Week 13.
