'It's Still October!' Atlanta Falcons Aren't Over-Hyped About NFC South Lead

The Atlanta Falcons are now the division leaders in the NFC South, but there is still a lot of football left to be played.

What if I had told you three weeks ago that the Atlanta Falcons would be the division leaders in the NFC South?

Sounds crazy, right? This team has shown its fair share of issues through seven weeks of play, but after a clutch win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, that's the exact position where the Birds find themselves.

It's a cool feat to be on top, but Atlanta knows that there is a lot of football left to be played this season. The job isn't finished yet.

“It feels great, but you know, it’s still October, right?" defensive end Calais Campbell said on Sunday. "There’s still a lot of football left to play. Whether we’re on top of the division today does not matter. We just have to keep fighting and playing better ball, you know, find a way to keep improving. But I will say, getting a win on the road in the division is huge.”

Oct 1, 2023; London, United Kingdom; Atlanta Falcons defensive end Grady Jarrett (97), defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) and guard Matthew Bergeron (65) enter the field during an NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Head coach Arthur Smith feels the same way. In the NFL, you have to take things one week at a time and not rest on your laurels. He's just happy to have escaped Tampa with a win.

“Yeah, look it’s Week 7 [but] we’ll take it," Smith said. "Road win, division win [that] puts us 2-0 in the division. We know we’ve got work to do, but happy to get a win.”

The Falcons now hold a record of 4-3, a half-game better than Tampa's mark of 3-3. The NFC South is still very much up-for-grabs, and if the teams in the division beat up on one another throughout the year, Sunday's win for Atlanta could prove to be huge.

For now, however, it's just one game in a long season.