Falcons Beat Saints; Bucs Miss The Playoffs
January 4th, 2026
“Jason, we lost.”
To steal a Todd Bowles phrase, the Falcons coached it better and they played it better.
Atlanta (8-9) beat the Saints (6-11) this afternoon to force a three-way tie atop the NFC South. The Bucs (8-9) do not own the tiebreaker, so the Panthers are now the NFC South champs.
The Bucs’ four-season reign as division champs is over, something that seemed awfully hard to believe two months ago when the Bucs were 6-2 and entering their bye week.
But the Bucs proceeded to lose all their December games — against poor teams. In succession, the Bucs lost to New Orleans and Atlanta at home, and then Carolina and Miami on the road.
Sad. Really sad.
And now it’s time for Coach Watch.
Will Team Glazer dare to give a very unpopular head coach, Todd Bowles, a fifth season to convince fans he’s capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl? Most fans think Bowles woefully underachieved this year and runs a defense that teams too often abuse with second-rate offensive players.