The Atlanta Falcons find themselves in a fascinating race in the NFC South that looks to have a familiar theme this year: likely 9 or less wins being all that's needed to win the division and get to the playoffs.

It feels like this has been the story forever now, but this year, the Falcons in the first year of the Kevin Stefanski era should be right in this thing until the end. On an absolutely wild Sunday, the New Orleans Saints took another loss while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clawed back in the race with an absolute dismantling of the Carolina Panthers.

With the Panthers at 3-3 and half a game clear of first place, Atlanta sits at 3-4 one game clear of both the Saints and Buccaneers both at 2-5. Now, following the shocking win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons prepare to hit the road again for another absolutely massive road game in Tampa Bay.

Realistically, all four teams are very much still in the race in this division which looks like it could go down to the wire again. When all four teams have issues and everyone is in the race, so often these divisions are going to be decided by games like this where the contenders face each other.

It was the case last year, and it likely will be again this year, so that makes this game against the Buccaneers absolutely massive for the Falcons. On paper, this is a very winnable matchup, but the reality is that the margins on these showdowns against divisional opponents are absolutely razor thin in this league.

On the road makes it even tougher, and though Atlanta has been good away from home this year, Tampa Bay certainly looked very strong this weekend against the Panthers.

If the Falcons are going to head South and return with a victory, it's going to take all hands on deck to be able to make that happen. Baker Mayfield is back healthy and playing good football for the Buccaneers, and when that is the case, Tampa Bay is a tough team to beat.

It's too early in the year to call this a must win, but Atlanta being able to win would send a major statement to the rest of the division that this is theirs for the taking. Time will tell if they're able to get it done.