If the Panthers can beat the Saints on Sunday, they would be positioned to clinch the NFC South the following week against the Buccaneers.

If these two things happen, the 49ers would finish 13-4 and win the NFC West over a 13-4 Rams team based on the division record tiebreaker. If the Seahawks also finish 13-4 in this scenario, the 49ers would have swept them, so they'd win any tiebreaker with Seattle. At 7-to-1 odds to win the NFC West, the 49ers feel like a steal.

The Buccaneers opened Week 15 against the Falcons on "Thursday Night Football," with the Panthers taking on the Saints on Sunday. Tampa Bay was down a point at halftime and got up two touchdowns in the second half. But Atlanta battled back and used a walk-off field goal to flip the NFC South heading into the weekend.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dave Canales went to bed at halftime of the Falcons-Bucs game Thursday night. When the second-year coach woke up Friday morning, he and the Carolina Panthers were in a position the franchise hasn’t seen in 10 years – alone in first place.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts scored three touchdowns as his team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 29-28. Pitts also caught 11 passes for 166 yards to become the first tight end to record 150 yards and three touchdowns in a single game since Shannon Sharpe in 1996.

Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts is expected to play in Thursday night's showdown between the Falcons and the Buccaneers in Tampa.

At one point this season, the Buccaneers were 6-2 and looked to be in complete and total control of one of the NFL's weakest divisions. With Thursday's loss, they are now 7-7 and have lost five of their past six games,