Falcons

• According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank has brought in consulting firm Sportology to do a deep evaluation of the organization and whether changes are needed.
• Breer writes that Sportology will examine the Falcons’ “overall health” and the team’s internal operations.
• He adds people in the building are bracing for some sort of serious shakeup. Both GM Terry Fontenot and HC Raheem Morris are believed to be on the hot seat to some degree. 

Panthers

Panthers first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan had just five receptions over three games before recording six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown in Carolina’s big 23-20 win over the Buccaneers to take control of the NFC South. McMillan said he’s just tried to “trust in the process” and still feels like he has a lot of room to improve. 

“Obviously, the last couple of weeks were slow. But I trust in the process, I trust in the game plan,” McMillan said, via Joseph Person of The Athletic. “It just so happened to be where I was a little bit more involved, and I’m super grateful for it. And I’m not going to sit here and act like I had a good game, because I didn’t. I just got to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way.”

Carolina has also gotten solid production from fellow rookies like fourth-round S Lathan Ransom, second-round OLB Nic Scourton, undrafted K Ryan Fitzgerald and fifth-round TE Mitchell Evans. Panthers HC Dave Canales expressed belief in their young players and feels they “looked fast” in Week 16. 

“It’s why we play these guys. It’s why we believe in them and we live through the bumps along the road with having young players out there,” Canales said. “But at this time of year, they’re young, they’re strong. We had a bye week to get our legs back and they looked that way. They looked fast. We had an aggressive style of play, so I’m really proud of those young guys coming through.”

The Panthers have now won each of their last three games by a margin of just three points. McMillan has noticed that they “thrive” late in games. 

“Obviously, it’s good that we finish games and we’re good at the end of the game as far as finishing drives and scoring points. It’s a little too close for comfort sometimes,” McMillan said. “But for some reason, that’s where we thrive, and that’s kind of the area that we excel at. I feel like we just got to do a better job at starting faster.”

Saints

Saints QB Tyler Shough spent seven years in college before being drafted in 2025. Shough points out that he had limited appearances before arriving in New Orleans and learned a lot during his time in college. 

“In college, I really only played 30-something games,” Shough said, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “It wasn’t a drastic amount, but I’ve just seen a lot of different sides of the coin, as far as being a backup, being a starter, and having a lot of success and a lot of failure. It leveled me out mentally, as far as expectations and the importance of preparation. I started the season as a backup and I got to manage a scout team, and that was the greatest thing for me because it was treated like the game. You know how scout team goes, it’s often worse than the game because it’s the first-string defense. And I was kind of tearing it up. It’s a credit to my coaches and all the guys around me. It goes back to preparation and not making it bigger than what it is, and just going out and operating.”