The Buccaneers had a big opportunity on Sunday afternoon

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[list=]. With a win , not only would they have gotten back above the .500 mark, but they also would have sent the division-rival Falcons to 1-5. In the end, Tampa Bay couldn’t get it done. There are plenty of reasons for the loss, but instead of getting into those here, let’s break down week six for the rest of the NFC South.New Orleans Saints (4-1)The Saints had Sunday off after last week’s blowout of the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. New Orleans is still the top team in the division through six weeks.Up Next: at Baltimore Ravens (4-2)Carolina Panthers (3-2)Results from SB Nation’s Week 7 FanPulse surveyThe Panthers failed to capture their third straight win on Sunday, falling 23-17 to the Redskins. Washington took an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter on two touchdown passes by Alex Smith before leading 17-6 at halftime. The Panthers got the game to 20-17 in the fourth quarter when Cam Newton and Torrey Smith connected for a touchdown and two-point conversion, but a field goal from Dustin Hopkins brought the deficit to six with 3:15 left. Newton got his offense down the field late, but the drive stalled out at the Washington 16-yard line with 38 seconds to go.The ground game was a problem for Carolina, as Christian McCaffrey ran for just 20 yards on eight carries. Newton was the team’s leading rusher with 43 yards on nine carries in addition to throwing for 275 yards and two touchdowns (to one interception) on 27-of-40 passing. Devin Funchess was his top target , catching five passes for 74 yards and a score. The Panthers outgained the Redskins 350-288, but three turnovers did them in.Up Next: at Philadelphia Eagles (3-3)Atlanta Falcons (2-4)The Falcons prevented their season from getting too out of hand on Sunday, improving to 2-4 on the year with a 34-29 home win over the Buccaneers. The offense clicked throughout, throwing all over an awful Tampa Bay defense. Atlanta got out to a 21-6 lead before leading 24-13 at halftime. The Falcons allowed the Bucs to get back into it in the second half, but did just enough to hang on. Coach Dan Quinn made a gutsy call late in the game, calling on Matt Bryant for a 57-yard field goal with just over one minute to go. He delivered to extend his team’s lead to five, meaning the Bucs needed a touchdown to win the game. But had he missed, it would’ve given Tampa Bay great field position and the potential for an easy game-winning field goal. The Atlanta defense allowed the Jameis Winston to lead a drive down the field in just over a minute, but a wild final play fell just short and the Falcons held on. Matt Ryan was excellent throughout the afternoon , completing 31 of his 41 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Julio Jones led all receivers with 143 yards on 10 catches, but remains without a touchdown through six games this season. The Atlanta defense allowed 512 total yards, but came up with two interceptions in the win.Up Next: vs. New York Giants (1-5)— Monday Night Football Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will be on the same practice field for a couple days, though their football careers will be forever linked.They practiced on the same field Wednesday for one period as Winston's Tampa Bay Buccaneers worked out with Mariota's Tennessee Titans. There wasn't time for any chit chat between them."I just know he's a great guy, and I just love seeing him out here competing," Winston said.NFL fans know more than that. They are both quarterbacks. They are both Heisman Trophy winners, and they were the first players drafted in 2015.But they didn't get a chance watch one another practice, much less catch up on things."It was separate, so I didn't really get a chance to go see him ," Mariota said.The decision by Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter and first-year Titans coach Mike Vrabel for their teams to work out together before Saturday night's preseason game brought back up the Winston-Mariota debate.The two worked out together before the 2015 NFL draft out in California. Titans general manager Jon Robinson worked with Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers chose Winston as the No. 1 pick overall over Mariota. Now Robinson has Mariota as the first of those two quarterbacks not only to reach the playoffs but win a game once in the postseason."Mariota, he just does a great job and the Tennessee Titans have a good football team," Winston said. "We have a good football team too. We just have to win more games. It's always good to compete against guys, but he's done a great job here and I have to continue to work on my craft and lead our team to the playoffs."The Bucs will be without Winston for the first three games this season as the quarterback sits out a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The NFL announced the suspension in June after the league investigated an allegation Winston groped a female Uber driver in Arizona in March 2016.That's why Ryan Fitzpatrick started the Bucs' exhibition opener, a 26-24 win over Miami, and Winston worked with the second-team. Koetter said Fitzpatrick got the majority of the work with the Bucs' first-team offense when they worked on a separate field against the Titans' defense.Winston and Mariota will practice against each other again Thursday in the second of joint practices between the Bucs (1-0) and Titans (0-1). Then Fitzpatrick is expected to start again Saturday night.Koetter declined to compare where Winston and Mariota are now as quarterbacks going into their fourth seasons, happy with Winston."I'm not a good person to ask that, because I coach Jameis and I rarely get a chance to watch Marcus," Koetter said. "We know where Jameis is at , you've documented that many times. I can't compare the two because I rarely get to watch Marcus."Not only does Mariota have the edge over Winston in the NFL with a playoff victory, he also has two very big wins. Mariota and Oregon routed Winston and Florida State 59-20 in the College Football Playoff semifinal in January 2015 . Mariota also is 1-0 against Winston and the Bucs with a 42-14 win in the quarterbacks' NFL debut in 2015.The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner said he's never really been concerned with being linked to Winston during the pre-draft process or since. Mariota knows who he is and focuses on trying to improve himself."It's always kind of interesting our paths cross again," Mariota said. "But it is good to see him, and hopefully we'll just continue to find ways to get better and look back on it and just kind of laugh about it."Follow Teresa M. Walker at teresamwalker
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