There has been a quiet changing of the guard at the quarterback position in the NFC South.
From 2006-12, teams led by Drew Brees or Matt Ryan combined to win five NFC South titles. The Panthers and Bucs each won one over that period, but the division was controlled by Brees, who arrived in 2006 in a trade with the San Diego Chargers and Ryan, who was drafted third overall in the 2008 draft.
Brees led the Saints to division titles in 2006, 2009 and 2011. He took the 2009 team to a victory in Super Bowl XLIV.
Ryan guided the Falcons to five consecutive winning seasons and four trips to the playoffs, and the team was within 10 yards of going to the Super Bowl after the 2012 regular season.
But Carolina, which clinched its third consecutive division title with Cam Newton at quarterback, and Tampa Bay, with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, are in first and second place in the division.
The Panthers (12-0) host the Falcons (6-6) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
“The young guys are playing at a high level right now,” Falcons safety William Moore said. “It’s not just them, it’s their teams. They are on great teams with great cores and are surrounded by good players. They are all good.”
Moore has watched Newton, a former Westlake High star who led Auburn to a BCS championship and won the Heisman Trophy, develop since he was taken No. 1 overall in the 2012 draft.
“He’s at the top of his game right now,” Moore said. “Winston is getting better week after week.”
Newton has the Panthers off to the best start in franchise history and is being mentioned as a possible MVP candidate along with New England’s Tom Brady.
The Panthers scrambled to the NFC South title last season and won it with a 7-8-1 record. They defeated Arizona in the wild-card round of the playoffs before losing 31-17 to Seattle in the divisional round.
“We had to win four games in a row,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “Every game we played was a playoff atmosphere for us. I think that really helped our confidence. It really helped our quarterback’s confidence.”
That taste of reaching the playoffs has fueled Newton’s passion to improve and make a return visit. The Panthers hope to wrap up the NFC’s top seed with a victory over the reeling Falcons.
“I think that was one of the big things,” Rivera said. “If you go back and look at how we did it and how he played down that stretch, if anything, that really helped push him in the direction that we needed him going.”
Newton’s growth as a quarterback impresses Carolina cornerback Josh Norman.
“He’s made some crucial big plays that’s notable for an MVP candidate,” Norman said. “Those plays right there, you just don’t make every day without working at them. He works at them, and you can see that (transferring) to the games.”
Winston guided the Buccaneers to two wins over the Falcons this season: 23-20 in overtime Nov. 1 and 23-19 on Sunday. The victories gave the Bucs the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Falcons and left the Falcons one game out of the sixth and final playoff spot, with four games left.
Winston, a former Florida State star, was a model of composure against the Falcons in both games and made an impressive 20-yard run on third-and-19 to break the Falcons’ back in the fourth quarter.
“His urgency to keep a play alive,” Moore said. “His third-and-19 against us, and I know it (hurts) for us to talk about it, for a young quarterback to keep a play alive like that in a crucial situation showed a lot of maturity from him.
“You probably wouldn’t see that from him over the first five games, but over the course of time, he’s matured. He’s back there standing in the pocket. He’s making comfortable throws. He reminds me a lot of Cam.”
While Newton and Winston are thriving, there are questions about the future of the record-setting Brees and Ryan.
If the Saints lose another game, it will mark the first time they’ve suffered back-to-back losing seasons with Brees at the controls. Brees, who turns 37 in January, probably is not up for a rebuilding project in New Orleans. He is under contract through the 2016 season with a base salary of $19.75 million.
While the passing of time and the mismanagement of the salary cap have slowed Brees and the Saints, Ryan and the Falcons are transitioning to a new regime.
After a 5-0 start to this season, Ryan has struggled in the new offense. He appears uncomfortable at times and has developed a penchant for throwing untimely interceptions.
Brees has the highest passer rating (96.6) among the division quarterbacks, followed by Newton (93). Ryan has a 87.6 passer rating followed by Winston’s 85.6.
Part of the surge of the Panthers and the Bucs may be attributed to the salary cap.
After Brees signed a $100 million contract extension and Ryan inked a $103 million deal, there apparently was not enough money left to surround them with better talent.
The Falcons have been cobbling together the linebacker unit and whiffed on draft picks expected to help along the offensive line.
But the Falcons believe that Ryan simply is going through an adjustment period in the new offense under coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“We love where Matt Ryan is, in terms of the throws and what we want to do in (the offense),” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “Connecting those times, are there bumps and slumps that happen? For sure, but as far as one over the other, I totally feel in concert with the two of them together. … I have unbelievably unwavering faith in both Matt and in Kyle.”
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