Mike Celizic

There’s no new sheriff in the NFL’s town. That office is still held by the New York Giants. But there is a posse’s worth of new deputies, and they’re not working out of the NFL East.

This is not news in the NFC South, which this week finally left us no choice but to quit yammering on about how wonderful the NFC East is and forced us to admit that there’s another premier division in the NFL. If the playoffs began today, the NFC West and North would each get a team in because the rules say they have to, no matter how bad those teams are. The mighty NFC East would get the same number — one.

The NFC South would get three: Tampa Bay, Carolina and Atlanta.

Most fans may insist the NFC East is better. That’s what we’ve spent all year saying. But there’s really not a lot of evidence to support that claim.

There have been just a few games played between teams from the two divisions. Back on Oct. 26, the Falcons lost at Philadelphia, 27-14. That same week, Tampa lost to the Cowboys, who were without Tony Romo, 13-9. The Panthers get their turn on Dec. 21, when they take on the Giants in what will most likely be a playoff preview.

The South has been an underreported story all year. But that’s about to end. In Week 14, the Panthers and Bucs put their 9-3 records and first place in the division on the line in Carolina.

We’re going to have no choice but to pay complete attention. The game’s on Monday night, Dec. 8. It's the game of the night. The South's national spotlight has been three months coming, but it couldn’t be arriving at a better time.

Video   Roundtable: Plaxico Burress fiasco Nov. 30: The FNIA crew discuss Plaxico Burress' big mistake and its long-term effects on the Giants. NBC Sports

At this time of year, there are no more excuses. If you want to make the playoffs, you have to ignore injuries and turmoil and everything else and win games.

The Giants have been the textbook case for that. They’ve shaken off injuries, an early loss to the Browns, the suspension of Plaxico Burress, various injuries and now Burress’ latest bit of numbskullery — carrying a loaded pistol into a nightclub, shooting himself in the leg with it, then trying to get teammate Antonio Pierce cover for him. Faced with a second-half schedule consisting of nothing but winning teams, the Giants just keep racking up the wins.

They did it again Sunday, crushing a good Redskins team and maintaining a three-game lead in the division. With four games the play, the Giants could lose two and still waltz into the playoffs.

If you want to find some other teams who are winning the big ones, adjust your view to the south. The Buccaneers lost two of the first five games. Since then, they’ve dropped just the one game to Dallas. The Panthers, at 9-3, have lost to division rivals Tampa and Atlanta and NFC North leader Minnesota.

On Sunday, both Tampa and Carolina had to win to make next Monday a battle for sole possession of first place. Both delivered.

The Panthers scored 14 fourth-quarter points to beat the Packers, 35-31 in a game Green Bay desperately needed to win. The Bucs, meanwhile, took on an equally desperate New Orleans team. The Saints scored 10 fourth-quarter points to tie it at 20-20. But the Bucs kept their cool and drove for the game-winning field goal.

The season's biggest surprise, Atlanta, is just one game behind those division leaders. After a bad loss to the Broncos three weeks ago, the Falcons have taken out the Panthers and the Chargers. They play at New Orleans next week, have the Bucs at home, then finish against the Vikes on the road and the Rams at home.

Video   Costas: Rule change needed Nov. 30: Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth debate whether or not the clock should stop on first downs in the final two minutes of a game. NBC Sports

Atlanta’s biggest immediate rival for a wild card is Dallas, but the Cowboys finish against the Steelers, Giants, Ravens and Eagles. The Cowboys could easily lose three of those four. We started the year thinking that the Cowboys would be Super Bowl-bound and the Giants and the Eagles would join them in the playoffs. Back then, you’d have been laughed out of the bar if you suggested Atlanta could snag a wild card out of the Cowboys’ lasso.

Stay tuned. It could happen.

Get the fork out
And stick it in the Chargers, Saints and Bills. They were all pretty much out of it going into Week 13, and completely finished by the end of the day. At 6-6, the Saints are three games back in the NFC South, and they’re not going to make up that much ground. The Chargers fell to 4-8, making it pretty much impossible to catch the Broncos in the weak AFC West. The Bills started the year great, but a horrible 10-3 loss to the 49ers Sunday dropped them to 6-6 and last place in the AFC East. Better luck next year, guys.

The Packers lost a bad one to the Panthers to fall to 5-7, but as bad as that record is, it’s just two games behind the division-leading Vikings. Given the weakness of the division, it’s too early to count Green Bay out.

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 9 games STEELERS 28, BRONCOS 10: Roethlisberger throws 3 TDs COWBOYS 20, EAGLES 16: Austin’s TD puts Dallas atop NFC East COLTS 20, TEXANS 17: Indy's 17th-straight regular season win  |    Video SAINTS 30, PANTHERS 20: N.O. now 8-0 for first time in its history CHARGERS 21, GIANTS 20: N.Y. loses 4th straight  |    Video BUCS 38, PACKERS 28: Rookie QB leads Tampa to first win  |    Video PATRIOTS 27, DOLPHINS 17: Brady-Moss connection thrives  |    Video CARDINALS 41, BEARS 21: Warner tosses 5 TDs  |    Video BENGALS 17, RAVENS 7: Cincy cements AFC North status  |    Video FALCONS 31, REDSKINS 17: Atlanta gets into scuffle, still wins TITANS 34, 49ERS 27: Young improves to 2-0 as a starter this year SEAHAWKS 32, LIONS 20: Seattle overcomes 17-0 hole JAGUARS 24, CHIEFS 21: Chargers cast-off Chambers can't save K.C. Byes: Bills, Browns, Raiders, Rams, Vikings, Jets

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