(My Sportsbook) -- Two weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in the driver's seat in the well-balanced NFC South. Now the reigning division champs find themselves dangerously close to missing out on the postseason heading into the final two games of the regular season.

Back-to-back losses to division foes Carolina and Atlanta have put the Bucs in that precarious position, and although the team put forth a gritty effort in a hostile environment without its starting quarterback during this past Sunday's 13-10 overtime defeat to the Falcons, repeated breakdowns on offense and the defense's sudden inability to stop the run ultimately had Tampa Bay coming up short in a key December contest.

With regular signal-caller Jeff Garcia unable to go due to a strained right calf, the Buccaneers mustered their second-lowest point total of the year with surprise fill-in Brian Griese under center. On the other side of the ball, a struggling Tampa defense was gashed on the ground for a second straight week, with the physical Falcons grinding out 175 rushing yards on the afternoon.

Despite those glaring inefficiencies, the Bucs still had a golden opportunity to win the game after reserve wide receiver Brian Clark blocked a punt deep in Atlanta territory with 2:24 remaining in regulation. Griese moved the offense to the enemy nine-yard-line shortly afterward, but a sack by Falcons' disrupter John Abraham, followed by a holding penalty, forced Tampa to settle for a Matt Bryant field goal and a 10-10 tie.

That infraction was one of 11 penalties committed by Jon Gruden's squad for the game, another primary contributor to the offense's lack of continuity.

"We had a lot of shots," said wide receiver Antonio Bryant, who compiled 108 receiving yards on eight catches and scored Tampa Bay's lone touchdown. "Like I said, we didn't get it done. "I'm not going to take any credit away from Atlanta, but I don't feel like they were the better team. I can't even say that I feel that they were the better team today. You just can't play that type of football with penalties."

A defense that has surrendered a whopping 474 rushing yards over the two recent losses may be an even greater concern for the Buccaneers. A unit that was missing veteran nose tackle Chris Hovan (sprained knee) and had starting under tackle Jovan Haye's snaps limited because of a knee problem of his own suffered a another major blow on Sunday, when playmaking strong safety Jermaine Phillips fractured his right forearm and was likely knocked out for the remainder of the year.

Gruden is hopeful that Garcia will be healthy enough to start this Sunday's home matchup against San Diego.

QUICK HITS: Griese completed 26-of-37 passes for 269 yards with one touchdown and an interception in his first action since a loss at Denver on October 5...Antonio Bryant produced his fifth 100-yard effort of the season and now has a career-best 1,044 receiving yards this year. The NFL Comeback Player of the Year candidate has now scored four touchdowns over the last three weeks...Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin announced after Sunday's game that he will leave his post at the end of the season to join the staff of the University of Tennessee, where his son Lane was named head coach earlier this month. The elder Kiffin has been with the Bucs since 1996...Phillips recorded 12 tackles and a forced fumble before exiting Sunday's loss.

NEXT UP: Tampa Bay closes out the regular season with the first of two straight home games against AFC West foes when the disappointing Chargers invade Raymond James Stadium this Sunday. The Buccaneers, who are locked in a three-way duel with Dallas and Atlanta for the two Wild Card spots in the NFC, are an unblemished 6-0 at home thus far in 2008.

ATLANTA: Sunday's big victory over Tampa Bay secured the Falcons' first winning campaign since 2004, when the Michael Vick-led squad ended 11-5 and captured its only NFC South crown en route to an appearance in the conference championship game.

Most of the praise for Atlanta's unforeseen turnaround has been heaped upon rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, who played a huge role in the latest win with 152 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 32 carries. However, the consistently dominant play of Abraham has been just as essential to the team's amazing run of success.

The standout defensive end registered three sacks against the Bucs and now has 15 1/2 on the season, the third-highest total in the league. That total also betters Abraham's personal season-best of 13 quarterback takedowns, set while with the New York Jets in 2001.

Abraham came up with a game-saving play when he got to Griese late in the fourth quarter to help stall a potential go-ahead scoring drive, but the three-time Pro Bowl participant wasn't finished. He later sacked Griese for a 13-yard loss on third down on the opening series of overtime, greatly improving Atlanta's field position for what turned out to be the winning possession.

"He's a great player, especially on this (turf) surface in that noise," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden remarked. "We sent help (to Abraham's side) several times. He made some big plays in some tough situations and that is a credit to him."

The knock on Abraham, who posted his third three-sack outing of the season, through the years has been a propensity for getting hurt as well as a perceived reluctance to play through injuries. The ninth-year pro has shed that label with his superb performance in 2008, as he's played in every game and remained highly productive despite dealing with a nagging shoulder stinger.

Turner's one-yard scoring plunge in the first quarter was his 15th rushing touchdown of the year, which is tops in the NFL this season and a Falcons' single-year record.

QUICK HITS: Turner entered the game tied with Jamal Anderson (1998) for the most rushing touchdowns in a season in team history...Ryan completed 15-of-23 passes for 206 yards in the win and became the Falcons' first-ever rookie quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season...Special-teams ace Coy Wire was inserted into the starting lineup at strongside linebacker against Tampa Bay and racked up a team-best 13 tackles (11 solo)...Rookie offensive tackle Sam Baker saw his first game action on Sunday since undergoing back surgery in late October...Atlanta earned its first overtime win since a 34-31 decision over Carolina on December 18, 2004...The Falcons improved to 6-1 at the Georgia Dome with their Week 15 triumph.

NEXT UP: The Falcons' postseason hopes may hinge on this Sunday's marquee showdown with NFC North-leading Minnesota at the Metrodome. The Vikings presently own a one-game advantage on Chicago for first place and have won four in a row following an impressive 35-14 road ousting of playoff-bound Arizona over the weekend. Tarvaris Jackson, subbing for an injured Gus Frerotte at quarterback, threw a career-high four touchdown passes to lead the way.

CAROLINA: The Panthers moved one step closer to wrapping up the NFC South title with this past Sunday's 30-10 dismantling of the visiting Denver Broncos, a win that has put an even more significant achievement well within reach for one of the league's hottest teams.

The victory, coupled with the suddenly-slumping New York Giants' loss at Dallas in Week 15, has set up a colossal showdown between Carolina and New York this coming weekend at the Meadowlands. The winner of Sunday's clash between 11-3 clubs will clinch the NFC's No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

Defeating the defending world champion Giants figures to set up the Panthers well for their second-ever Super Bowl appearance. Carolina completed a perfect regular season at home with Sunday's rout of the AFC West-leading Broncos, and has won by an average of 15.4 points over its eight tests at Bank of America Stadium.

The Panthers have never been seeded first in the NFC Playoffs, with the team's previous best designation a No. 2 in 1996. Carolina was a third seed when it advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII following the 2003 season.

Carolina will be entering what is being billed as the biggest regular-season game in franchise history on a serious roll. John Fox's troops have won three in a row and seven of their last eight contests, while scoring 30 or more points five times during that stretch.

Running back DeAngelo Williams scored a touchdown for the seventh straight game with a back-breaking 56-yard run early in the third quarter against the Broncos, while wide receiver Steve Smith torched the Denver secondary for 165 yards and a score on nine grabs.

Smith has now eclipsed 100 receiving yards in four consecutive weeks and has totaled 555 yards on 30 catches over that outstanding span.

The Panthers did endure two worrisome injuries in the Denver win, Defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu, one of the team's most valuable run-stuffers, left the game with a right ankle problem and was on crutches afterward, while starting right guard Keydrick Vincent hurt his groin in the fourth quarter. The status of the two players for the Giants game has yet to be determined.

QUICK HITS: Carolina finished 8-0 at home for the second time in team history, having previously accomplished the feat in 1996...Williams ended with 88 rushing yards on 12 carries and now has 16 touchdowns (14 rushing, 2 receiving) on the season, tying teammate Muhsin Muhammad's club record for that category set in 2004...The Panthers held the Broncos, who were averaging 280.5 passing yards per game coming in, to only 158 net yards through the air...Carolina recorded its first-ever victory over Denver, having lost the previous two matchups in the series. Houston and Miami are the only two teams the Panthers have never beaten.

NEXT UP: The Panthers will be visiting Giants Stadium for the first time since posting a 23-0 win over New York in the Wild Card round of the 2005 NFC Playoff. The Giants did exact a measure of revenge the following season with a 27-13 decision over Carolina at Bank of America Stadium on December 10, 2006.

NEW ORLEANS: A narrow Week 15 loss at Chicago ensured that the Saints won't be extending their season into January, while Reggie Bush's injury-riddled year may soon be cut short as well.

The versatile running back underwent an MRI on his surgically-repaired left knee over the weekend after suffering what was initially termed a minor sprain in New Orleans' 27-24 overtime setback to the Bears on December 11. Bush had missed four games earlier this season after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on October 20.

With the Saints officially eliminated from postseason consideration and Pierre Thomas having established himself as a viable every-down back, it's entirely possible the team could deactivate Bush for the final two regular-season games. If that's the case, it would mark the second straight year in which the well-paid former No. 2 overall pick will have an early ending to his season. Bush sat out the final four tests of 2007 after partially tearing the PCL in the same knee.

Thomas, meanwhile, continued to cement his case to be the Saints' starter in 2009 with another strong showing in the loss. The Chicago-area native had 87 rushing yards on 22 attempts against the Bears, including a 42-yard touchdown burst late in the third quarter, while adding season bests of seven receptions and 59 receiving yards. He also hauled in a two-yard scoring pass from quarterback Drew Brees in the first half.

The Saints outgained the Bears by a 345-226 margin in total yards on the evening, but poor special teams play and two Brees interceptions in opposing territory, one of which came after the offense moved to the Chicago nine-yard line, proved to be too much to overcome.

New Orleans allowed an 83-yard touchdown to the Bears' Danieal Manning on the game's opening kickoff, and Manning later set up another score with a 52-yard runback in the third quarter.

"We lost the battle in the kicking game. That was clear tonight," said Saints head coach Sean Payton. "That cost us not only a touchdown, but probably 120 yards in field position differential. You're not going to win a lot of games by playing that way."

QUICK HITS: Brees ended with 232 passing yards, the fourth time in the last five weeks in which he failed to throw for over 300 yards. The prolific quarterback had seven 300-yard efforts over the season's first nine games... The Saints announced the resignation of offensive coordinator Doug Marrone on Saturday, two days after he was named the head coach of Syracuse University on December 11. The 44-year-old Marrone was a three-year letterwinner on the offensive line for the Orange from 1983-85...Offensive tackle Jammal Brown was inactive against the Bears due to a sprained left ankle, while running back Deuce McAllister missed the game because of a death in the family...New Orleans dropped to 1-6 on the road with the Week 15 loss.

NEXT UP: The Saints appear to have an opportunity for a quick rebound with the winless Detroit Lions next on the slate. Detroit will be attempting to avoid becoming the first team in league history to start out with an 0-15 record in this Sunday's tilt at Ford Field, but did play the powerful Indianapolis Colts tough in a 31-21 loss this past weekend. The Lions have won their last three encounters with the Saints, although the teams haven't met since 2005.