The Chicago Bears are the class of the NFC, but three teams pulled off lastsecond wins yesterday to identify themselves as Chicago’s main conference rivals: The Carolina Panthers won their fourth straight game after an 0–2 start, the Seattle Seahawks took over first place in the NFC West, and the New Orleans Saints bolstered their claim as not only a good story, but also a good team.

In beating the Baltimore Ravens 23–21, Carolina showed that although Baltimore has a great defense, that defense has a major weakness in 30-year-old cornerback Samari Rolle, who couldn’t keep up with Carolina’s speedy receivers. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw in Rolle’s direction repeatedly, including a 42-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carter in the second quarter and a 72-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith that sealed the game with 4:15 remaining. Smith, finally healthy after being slowed since training camp by hamstring injuries, had eight catches for 189 yards and looks ready to regain last year’s all-pro form.

Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers had two sacks to bring his total for the season to eight.With Smith and Peppers, the Panthers have one of the league’s top players on both offense and defense, and at 4–2 they look like the Super Bowl contenders most people expected them to be.

The Ravens are also 4–2, but they’re reeling. Quarterback Steve McNair suffered a concussion in the first quarter and did not return.Whether McNair or backup Kyle Boller, who played the rest of the game, starts at quarterback when Baltimore next takes the field on October 29, the Ravens have problems on offense.

Still, Baltimore stayed ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals in first place in the AFC North because the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers upset Cincinnati 14–13. Elsewhere, the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions, both of whom began the day 0–5, beat the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills. For all three teams, the key to finally getting into the ‘W’ column was the quarterback. Titans rookie Vince Young and Bucs rookie Bruce Gradkowski both had unimpressive statistics, but both drove their teams into position for the gamewinning scores in the fourth quarter. Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna had his best game as a Lion, completing 24 of 36 passes for 278 yards. Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee aren’t good teams, but they played like they were yesterday.

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The St. Louis Rams began yesterday with a half-game lead over Seattle and a chance to take control of the NFC West. They came up just short, though, as Seahawks kicker Josh Brown hit a 54-yard field goal as time expired and Seattle took back first place in the division.

Seattle’s 30–28 win doesn’t solve all the team’s problems. Most important, the offensive line, which lost all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson, has gone from the strength of last year’s Super Bowl team to a weakness on this year’s squad. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was sacked four times yesterday, bringing his total to 17 times in five games this season. Last year he was only sacked 24 times in 16 games.

But as Seattle’s offensive line struggled, its defensive line took control. Defensive end Bryce Fisher beat St. Louis left tackle Orlando Pace for two sacks in the first half, and Seattle held St. Louis running back Steven Jackson, who led the league in rushing entering yesterday’s game, to only 56 yards on 20 carries.

For the Rams, it was a disappointing loss after taking a 21–7 halftime lead.But even after the loss, at 4–2 the Rams are playoff contenders. Quarterback Marc Bulger threw his first interception of the season in the fourth quarter, but he played well, completing 26 of 39 passes for 360 yards. Receiver Torry Holt caught eight passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, including a 67-yarder that gave St. Louis the lead with 1:44 remaining. St. Louis couldn’t hold that lead, though, and while Bulger and Holt give St. Louis one of the league’s best passing games, they won’t have the division’s best team until they can beat Seattle.

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When the Saints won on Monday Night Football in their first game back in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, most analysts assumed they were playing on emotion and wouldn’t be able to keep it up.But after a 27–24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, no one can dispute that the Saints are contenders.

The biggest difference between last year’s 3–13 Saints and this year’s 5–1 team is quarterback Drew Brees, who has an uncanny ability to read opposing defenses, calmly standing in the pocket and scanning the field no matter how much pressure he feels.The Eagles lead the league in sacks and averaged almost five a game entering yesterday, but Brees got rid of the ball so quickly that Philadelphia never sacked him. Brees completed 27 of 37 passes for 275 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

In addition to Brees, New Orleans’ other big-name off-season acquisition was Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush. Although Bush has played a major role in the Saints’ passing game and special teams, he continues to struggle running.Yesterday he gained just 25 yards on 11 carries; he’s averaged less than three yards a carry this season. Bush still tries to out-maneuver every linebacker he faces, like he did in college. He’s already a good receiver and punt returner, but he won’t be a good running back until he learns to find a hole and run directly through it, rather than trying to turn every handoff into a SportsCenter highlight.

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb was off to such a great start this season that although his numbers yesterday were solid (he completed 19 of 32 passes for 247 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception), the loss to the Saints was his worst game of the year. Despite the loss, the Eagles remain in first place in the NFC East at 4–2. The Giants and Cowboys won yesterday to improve to 3–2 and keep pace in the NFC’s most competitive division. Those NFC East teams, like the Seahawks, Rams, Panthers and Saints, will all continue to jockey for position in the NFC for the rest of the season — and they’ll all hope the Bears lose tonight.

Mr. Smith is a contributing editor for FootballOutsiders.com.