Week 12 brought another roller coaster to the NFC South, and not the fun kind.

All four teams entered the weekend battling their own problems, but by the time the dust settled, the picture somehow became even stranger.

For Saints fans, the frustration of a 24 to 10 loss to the Falcons was only the beginning of what turned into a rough stretch across nearly the entire division

The standings reflect the instability.

Tampa Bay leads the group at 6-5, but any momentum they hoped to carry into December vanished in a 34 to 7 blowout loss to the Rams.

Carolina, at 6-6, missed a chance to climb by falling 20 to 9 to San Francisco, a loss that showcased the gap between fringe playoff hopefuls and the conference’s elite.

Atlanta, now 4-7, was the lone NFC South team to win this week, powered by a fourth quarter burst that secured their 24 to 10 victory over the Saints.

That result dropped New Orleans to 2-9 and deepened the gap between where the Saints want to be and where they are.

But the clearest reminder of the NFC South’s struggles came in the updated point differentials.

After 12 weeks of football, every single team in the division is below zero.

No other division in the league shares that distinction, and every other division has at least two teams with a positive mark.

The NFC South has none. The numbers speak loudly (see StatMuse).

Tampa Bay sits at -25. Atlanta is at -30. Carolina has slipped to -53. And New Orleans, dealing with a brutal combination of injuries, inconsistency, and missed chances, sits last at -109.

For Saints fans, the loss stings for more than the score alone.

It was a matchup where New Orleans needed stability and got the opposite. The team was already dealing with depth issues and lost Alvin Kamara early to a knee injury that removed their most dynamic player from the game entirely.

The offense never found the rhythm it needed, and the Falcons took control late with a deep touchdown to Darnell Mooney and a successful two point conversion from Bijan Robinson.

A scoreless third quarter had kept the game within reach, but the final fifteen minutes turned decisively in Atlanta’s favor.

The silver lining, if one can be found, is that the rest of the division struggled just as badly.

Tampa Bay and Carolina both took double digit losses, and the NFC South as a whole continues to sit in one of the weakest positions of any division in the NFL.

For the Saints, the record is tough, the point differential is tougher, and the climb back into relevance feels steep.

With the Dolphins game next week, the team has a chance to regroup, rally the fanbase, and show there is still something worth fighting for as the season moves forward.