After the Atlanta Falcons stoned a Tampa Bay Buccaneers comeback in the Georgia Dome and won 27-21, the Falcons once again have an in-the-clear NFC South lead, plus a head-to-head tiebreaker over both the Bucs and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints beat the Carolina Panthers today, 34-3, to keep pace with Atlanta.
Next week the Falcons welcome the 6-2, AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens into the Dome for the season's first Thursday night game. The Saints have their bye week, so even a Falcons' loss wouldn't knock Atlanta out of first place. The Ravens beat the Miami Dolphins today, 26-10.
The Bucs and Panthers play each other in Tampa next week. A Bucs win and a Falcons loss would thus give us a three-way tie for first, broken by the Birds' aforementioned tiebreakers. According to Football Outsiders, the Falcons have the easiest remaining schedule of any NFC South team. Mainly because they still get to play the Panthers twice, maybe.