Atlanta Falcons 24, Washington Redskins 17

For the second consecutive week Atlanta struggled against an inferior opponent. Washington held 10-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Mistakes by Kirk Cousins, who was called on to replace the concussed Robert Griffin III, aided in the Falcons fourth quarter comeback as they put up 17 in route to a seven point win.

If you want to be an elite team you need to literally smoke inferior opponents. Atlanta hasn’t done that the last two weeks. Matt Ryan continues to get it done, but it seems that the Falcons are just missing that knockout punch during games this season.

Meanwhile, Washington has improved a great deal since last season due to the play of their youngsters, including RGIII. While they are 2-3 and in last place in the NFC East, the Redskins have impressed me a great deal thus far. Rookie Alfred Morris put up 135 yards and 19 touches and has been one of the most surprising players of the 2012 NFL season.

Seattle Seahawks 16, Carolina Panthers 12

From my review of the NFC West

"Meanwhile, the Seahawks were dominating on the defensive side of the ball once again. They held a talented Carolina offense to 190 total yards and just 13 first downs. As with the Rams before, Seattle needs to improve on the offensive side of the ball if they are going to have any shot at a postseason berth. Their defense will only get them so far."

New Orleans Saints 31, San Diego Chargers 24

From Lance Britton’s review of the AFC West

"In his second meeting against his original team, Drew Brees made history, throwing a touchdown pass for the 48th consecutive game.  The feat breaks a 52-year-old record set by Johnny Unitas.  More importantly, the Saints won there first game of the season in a 31-24 victory over the Chargers."

Bye: Tampa Bay Buccaneers